Dragon Tamers
by CRRC
Summary: In a world where dragons are real Joey and Seto raise and train dragons. Will the very dragons they raise to battle each other bring them closer together and change the world of dragon taming forever? Better plot explanation inside. Rated M. Puppyshipping, other pairings possible.
1. Dragon Thief

Plot: In a world where dragons and monsters are real Joey and Seto find themselves in a battle, used not by cards but with the very dragons they've raised. Unknown to them the very dragons they set against each other will bring them together. Can Joey teach Seto that love is more than power, can Seto sooth Joey's anger, and can they move on from the past together?

Warning for violence, sex, dragon fighting, cussing.

I don't own Yugioh, if I did Yami would have never left.

A/N CT THANK YOU for catching the error in this chapter, Doc manager messed up somehow and cut the last part out. I have fixed it. Also a big shout out to xfallenangle13x, my super, awesome, special beta reader!

* * *

It was early, the moon looming high within the stars as it kept its never-ending watch over the night sky. Only recently, has it begun to submit to the sun, losing the eternal battle for dominance as its other began to pale the sky. Far below, in the middle of a plain of grass, rested a pair of large barns, each as richly colored as the grasses that surrounded them. No-one moved about on the grounds, not even a bird was stirring. Everyone was asleep, with the exception of a thirteen-year-old boy.

Deep green-and-orange eyes gazed back into honey brown. A large black dragon shifted restlessly, hay moving underneath its sleek, dark scales. A long spiked tail thumped heavily against the concrete beneath, and slowly a yellow glow swelled within the beast's nostrils. With a low growl the color flared, deepening into a dangerous shade of orange, sending a wave of heat out into the brisk air of the stall.

"Shhh, Keller," a young boy, with skin the color of white sand and blonde hair cooed. Calloused fingers reached out, stroking the muzzle of the dragon that lay before him. "Soon," he promised.

Momentarily, the dragon settled, its tail ceasing its rhythmic movements. The fiery orange glow disappeared, submerging back within the reptile. With another uneasy shift, the dragon moved its legs out, resting on its side. It released a large sigh that blew the boy's blonde hair back, brushing his bangs away from his face.

"Is she doing okay, Joe?" whispered a small voice from behind the stall door. Joey turned, his honey eyes leaving the dragon for the first time since late last night. Peeking between the large steel bars was another pair of eyes, much like his own, only darker, and more innocent. They lacked the darkness that dwelled within his own, replaced instead by a light only supplied by the ignorance of a good childhood.

"Serenity, you shouldn't be here!" he scolded gently, having never been able to get too mad at his younger sister.

The girl moved her brown hair back over her shoulders as she quietly slid the stall door open, doing her best to not disturb the resting dragon. "I couldn't help it," she whispered again. Despite Joey speaking in a normal volume, she felt the need to be quiet.

Joey rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Keller. "Yes, you could," he insisted.

Serenity's face crunched up with frustration. "You can't just expect me to leave you out here all night, and it is freezing outside anyway," she snapped, louder than she intended. A green eye opened and settled on her, snorting in displeasure from being disturbed. "I bet you haven't eaten since you came out here either, have you?" she continued in a softer tone.

"No, I haven't. And it is plenty warm in here," Joey said, standing up, his long legs wobbling slightly from sitting so long. Trying to ignore the stinging from both his sleeping legs, Joey rested his hands on his sister's shoulders, steering her back out of the stall. "She doesn't need you stressing her out, too. Go home, sis. I will be back soon." He was met with a deep frown as he slid the stall door shut and locked it behind her.

"I am serious, you don't need to be here like this. She will be fine!" the girl all but yelled. This time Keller stood, rising onto her front legs first, her long sturdy back legs lifting the mass of her body off the ground. Joey had to drop out of the way when her tail came lashing out, clacking loudly against the steel bars. A loud, drawn-out CLANG rang through the stables, a few roars and growls emitting from the sudden unpleasant noise.

Taking a moment to gather himself Joey sat on the ground, watching as a familiar yellow flare sparked to life within his dragon's nose, and shot out two very small balls of flame, one from each nostril. They disappeared in the arm, a mere warning to who had disturbed her. Knowing she had made her point, the dragon circled once slowly, then dropped back to the ground, her large wings folding closely to her sides as her tail once again resumed its uneasy thumping.

Only when he was sure she was settled did Joey stand back up, glaring daggers that his younger sister through the door. "Go home, now," he snapped. Serenity seemed to shrink back at the correction, not used to her brother using such a sharp tone.

"Dad is going to kill you for this..." she grumbled unhappily, making her way out of the now unsettled stable. A few dragons observed as she left, a particularly skinny one even sticking its head between the stall bars to watch her leave.

Shaking his head Joey walked back over to Keller and watched as she took a deep breath in, and sighed out again, warming the stall with a the deep breath. Her tail twitched again, this time sharper, as if she were aggravated.

"Sorry." He went back to trying to soothe her, but when he went to place his hand behind one of her titanium-and-hematite-laced horns, she pulled back, leaving Joey confused. It was her favorite place to be scratched, and never before had she shied away like that.

His eyebrows creased together as he watched her again get up, and circle the stall, trying again to settle down before taking resuming her pacing. She took enough steps to move from one end of the stall then back to the other, all the while her tail dragged behind her, giving the occasional, uncomfortable twitch.

"This must be it," Joey thought to himself as he stood, trying his best to wedge himself into the corner and become invisible.

Again the dragon paced relentlessly, for what seemed to be the better part of an hour. Occasionally she would yawn loudly, slam her tail against the ground, or dig at a spot she found to be offensive. A field mouse dared to try and cross the floor, only to meet a surprising end when a small fireball engulfed it. Joey swallowed hard at this, his muscles clenching tighter in attempt to keep them from moving.

Finally, she stopped, dropping again to her side and breathing deeply. Her body was tensing then relaxing as she let out loud sounds that could only be compared to a groan. Knowing it wasn't too far off, Joey moved swiftly, positioning himself near her tail as her body tensed again, for a long period of time.

After months, weeks, days, and hours of waiting, finally Joey saw what he had been awaiting. Between her back legs, peeked the promise of an egg, its pale golden color standing out in contrast to the smooth, gray scales that covered her underside. Another great push and the egg slipped lazily from her body, rolling out onto the soft hay.

Knowing he only had seconds to act, Joey leaned forward swiftly and scooped up the basketball-sized egg, putting his back to the dragon and wedging himself into the corner again. Squeezing his eyes together tightly Joey hugged the soft shell of the egg to him, a bead of sweat dripping off his nose when the dragon sprang up to look for her newly-delivered treasure. Fierce green eyes scanned the floor desperately, trying to find her lost egg. She inhaled deeply, trying to follow its scent but became lost when another wave of pain wracked through her body. With another groan she settled back down onto her side, resting her head against the floor and began to deliver another egg.

This time Joey didn't move when another pale egg rolled to the floor, ignoring the mother when she checked to ensure its safety. Gently, she nudged the egg around to her tail, where she proceeded to wrap her end of it around the object protectively. The thought of taking an egg from the protection of its mother sent a shiver down his spine. Glancing behind his shoulder, he didn't dare to move as this process continued for what felt like another hour.

A gleam of sunlight slipped through the highlighted windows on the roof, telling Joey much more time than that had passed. The birth went on until four eggs were gathered in a close clutch at the dragon's tail. Only after she had blown a deep breath of fire on them, did she fall asleep, and it was only then that Joey dared to move. He sighed as he removed himself from the corner. Quietly, he tip-toed his way to the door, unlocked it, and slid it open, each small bump sounding like the crack of a limb in the tranquil silence that now engulfed the barn.

Behind him Joey slid the door shut and then ran hastily over to a small room. He wiggled between two loose boards, allowing him access to the dusty, abandoned closet. In it, was a large lamp that Joey quickly turned on, fumbling with the soft egg that he still held in shaky hands.

"I can't believe I did it!" he whispered to himself, as if someone was around to hear him. He reached up and grabbed two clean blankets off the shelf, white cords trailing behind as he settled them into a bundle on the floor. Placing the egg in the middle, he covered it up, and grabbed the cords, bringing them over to an electrical socket and plugging them in, switching the heated blankets on to their hottest setting.

For a moment Joey sat there, legs curled to his chest with his arms wrapped around his knees, the sheen of the gold egg reflecting in his brown eyes. "I actually did it," he whispered again, fighting back the tears that were building up in his eyes. A noise from outside rattled him from his thoughts, causing him to jump where he sat. The large door to the barn had been opened. Hastily, Joey sprang up and brushed his pants off, going over to the wall where he had come in. With one last glance at the dragon egg, his egg, he squeezed himself back through the loose boards and into the barn.

Checking to make sure he wouldn't be seen he rushed quietly back into the stall with the black dragon and sat down, watching as she slept. Only a moment later, footsteps could be heard behind him and Joey turned to look.

What appeared to be an older image of himself loomed behind the door. They looked very alike, aside for the eyes. The man had his sister's eyes, darker and wider.

"What're you doing here boy?" he growled, throwing the door open, not caring if he woke the sleeping mother. Roughly he grabbed Joey by the back of the shirt and lifted him clear off the ground. Joey's hands reached to his father's arms to prevent from being strangled by his own shirt.

"I wanted to watch! That's all, I swear! I was careful!" he pleaded quickly, squirming in his father's grasp, desperate to be put down.

"Obviously, or you would have died!" his father snapped, half-shoving, half-throwing Joey out of the stall and into the barn hallway. He slammed the door shut behind him, ignoring as Joey stood silently on the other side of the door.

Joey did his best to look crest fallen, but in reality, he couldn't give a fuck about his father's little fit. He had what he wanted, and that was all that mattered. From this point forward he could start making a life for himself and his sister, one he could depend on.

"How many did she have?" his father asked, his back still to his son as he went over to inspect the eggs. With respect that hadn't been shown to Joey, the newly-awoken dragon unwrapped her tail and stretched her neck out, offering a nuzzle to her owner that was quickly rejected. "Beasts should never know love, for then they know weakness," his father always said.

"Four…."Joey said quietly, as if he didn't trust himself to not tell the truth. Lying was not one of his strong points.

"All of them made it, hm?" his father asked as he moved the eggs around, inspecting each one for signs of damage. Joey nodded, even though his father couldn't see. "As far as I could tell."

Taking an egg in his hands Joey's father stood, not acknowledging the dragon as he left the stall, closing it behind him. "Cull this one," he ordered, shoving the egg into Joey's hands. Confused, the boy fumbled with the fragile thing, looking at his father as he started to walk away.

"Why?" he asked, holding the egg close to him, enjoying the warmth from its mother's flame and body against his chest.

"Because she is my beast, that is why, and if I don't want her to have four, then she won't. She lives by my rules, and she knows it," he growled curtly, before leaving the barn and Joey, who stood looking stupidly into the stall. On the other side of the door green eyes watched him closely. If he didn't know any better, Joey could have sworn he saw an almost pleading look behind that emerald green stare. Conflicted, he held the egg closer and began to move away, knowing the eyes of Keller never left his body as he turned away.

Making his way toward the door of the stable, Joey looked down at the egg in his hands, and stopped when he came to another stall. In it was another dragon, light grey scales covering her body. She slept soundly, her tail wrapped tightly around a clutch of three eggs. Glancing from the unhatched offspring in his hands, to the clutch, Joey bit his lip and slid the door open.

The mother lifted her head gently and Joey froze as a pair of purple eyes looked upon him, sharp and accusing. Not daring to get closer, and not knowing what else to do, Joey slowly set the egg down in the hay. He took his hands off the egg and held them open in front of him submissively, as if to show he meant no harm, before stepping back, and out of the stall.

Sliding the door shut, he stood and watched as the mother dragon stretched her neck out and sniffed the egg curiously. She nudged it gently with her snout, and rolled it around before picking it up in her mouth. With the care only mother could offer, she placed it with her brood, breathed a long sigh of fire over top of the four eggs, before settling back down to sleep.

A large grin broke across Joey's face as he left the barn, closing the door behind him. After all, what his father didn't know, wouldn't hurt him.

* * *

The next day Joey woke early, following his father out to the barns, closing the truck door behind him. It was the heat of the day, a few dragons lazed about, soaking up the heat before the cool winter air set in again. He'd only managed to get a few hours of sleep - the dark circles that hung around his eyes were proof. He stumbled along behind his father and watched as a boy about his age followed an adult into the barn, another smaller boy close on his heels.

"Who is that, dad?" Joey asked, pointing to where they had just gone inside.

"The new owners of the place. I guess ole' Muto got sick of all the problems around here. Sold it to the Kaibas, apparently." He had not bothered enough to look down as he spoke to his son. His eyes were hard and avoiding as usual, not that it bothered Joey much anymore.

"Kaiba? I thought they had their own barns already...?" he murmured, confused. His father nodded.

"They do. White Dragon Stables, actually. Why they were interested in this run-down place is beyond me."

Together they walked into the barn, to find the Kaiba family inspecting the same dragon Joey had seen last night, before he'd left the barn.

"I coulda' sworn she'd only had three of 'em," a man was saying as he scratched his head, looking into the stall where his dragon lay sleeping.

"Are you sure you just don't know how to count?" the older man asked, causing Joey to frown. The man smelled like money, with fancy shoes, neat hair, and even a brief case. His grey hair was combed back in a nice and orderly fashion, and an unlit cigar hung from his mouth as he spoke. What a person like this was doing around animals was beyond the young adolescent. Who the hell came to a barn dressed in a suit?! Clearly this person didn't know the first thing about breeding dragons.

"I bet his dragons can't do shit " Joey snickered to his father, meaning for the retort to be quiet. Unfortunately for Joey, the word quiet was nowhere close to his vocabulary, and before he could blink a hand was sent sailing toward his face.

"Watch what you say, boy!" his father roared after the back of his hand made contact with Joey's soft skin. Rather than cry out Joey's body tensed, much like it had the night before, when he'd stolen Keller's egg. Tears welled up in his eyes and he had to blink rapidly to keep them from falling. The younger of the Kiaba boys flinched at the harsh treatment, but the older of the brothers smirked.

"My father's dragons wouldn't dare step a claw into a garbage shoot like this. The poor bloodlines in here are so sour it stinks." Joey looked up and shot the boy a glare, his light brown eyes shocked when they locked with the brilliant blue of the older Kaiba. He was thin with brown hair, and aside from his fancy clothes nothing in particular stood out to Joey. Other than those ice blue eyes that seemed to drill into his soul. Not knowing why, Joey's eyes fell obediently to the ground, blinking as he studied the floor with a blank face.

"Excuse my son," his father said, holding his hand out to the senior Kaiba. "I'm Matt, Matt Wheeler."

The older man shoot his hand firmly and gave a nod in recognition. "Wheeler, hm? The black dragon is yours, correct?" he asked, ignoring the man he was talking to previously, not that he seemed to mind.

"Indeed, she is, sir."

"She's done well this year; thirty-eight and nine, wasn't it?"

"Thirty-nine, actually. She won't be back for some time, just had a clutch of three." Joey gave a silent snort at this, glancing over to the fourth egg that now sat with the gray dragon. Unbeknown to him, a set of blue eyes followed his gaze.

"Mind if I take a look? I am looking for some new breeding lines to introduce to my barns.

Joey saw his father's eyes as they lit up, thinking about the opportunity to make a quick dollar by selling off an egg. "Absolutely, sir." His false modesty was enough to make Joey puke.

Together the group made their way to Keller's stall, Joey making it point to avoid the Kiaba brothers, not that the smaller one seemed to be so bad. He was trying to talk with his brother and crack a joke or two, and he had a brilliant smile which Joey was sure the other could never pull off. The only thing the smaller one was lacking was his brother's blue eyes, instead having chocolate brown. Again Joey found himself looking at the older brother, but his focus was quickly brought away by his father.

"Joey, go get me an egg." His father barked, not leaving Joey room to protest. For the hell Joey had gotten when he'd returned home that morning, he found it completely stupid that his father was telling him to go back in there. The bruises across his back served as fresh reminders to leave his father's dragon alone.

Rolling his eyes at the stupidity of it all Joey slid the door open and slipped in, purposely making noise as to not startle the sleeping  
mother awake.

"Best line I've bred in years, I'm sure of it. I paired her with Siegfried's grey-and-red. Stud was forty and three, not that it is unusual for his lot," Joey heard his father gloating from behind him, causing the boy to roll his eyes again. Breeding with Siegfried's dragon had cost his family dinner for weeks, not that he cared. Ignoring the flash of anger he felt Joey clicked his tongue and held his hand out to the dragon. "Hey, beauty," he cooed, trying to earn her trust like he'd done days ago. Then, he had had a few dead rabbits though. Now, he only had the mark of an egg thief and a shaky smile. Green eyes stared at him. As he inched closer to the clutch of eggs the tail was wrapped around, he couldn't help but to think: "This has to be the stupidest thing I've done since yesterday." He inched closer still.

"Mokuba, have you ever wondered what it looks like when a dragon eats a person?" the older Kaiba brother mused out loud.

"Huh, what'd you mean Set-" the smaller boy was cut off by Joey's yell as he was slammed into the wall by a large claw. Keller had risen to her feet swiftly and pinned Joey to the wall, the claws inches from his head, another firmly embedded in his arm. Joey began to hyperventilate as his head tilted to the side to look at the long black claw, piercing his shirt, skin, and muscles. The smallest movement made his arm go numb, and pain shot all the way up the limb into his shoulder. It hurt just to try and NOT move.

Matt cursed openly and rushed into the stall, shoving the large dragon and taking a cylinder out of his pocket. With a flick of his wrist the cylinder extended into a metal club, which he rose in the air threateningly. "Off him, you stupid beast!" he yelled looming over her unprotected egg with his club held high. Obediently, but less than willingly, the dragon dropped the boy. Joey dropped to the ground with a groan. Her tail twitched in aggravation and she swayed on her feet, as if debating to assault her master. With a touch of insanity and bravery, Matt's eyes stared the dragon down, never leaving her deep green pools. Leaning further toward the clutch of eggs, Keller finally submitted, her maternal instincts overriding her anger. Letting out a loud sigh, she settled down onto the floor, lowering her head to touch the ground.

With a triumphant snort and a smirk, Matt lowered the club and picked up two of the three eggs, ignoring Joey who was now curled up on the floor, in pain and bleeding. He didn't bother to close the stall door behind him.

"These are the two I had my eyes on last night. They feel heavy, sturdy. Good dragons - I'd bet my life on it," Matt said handing one over to Kaiba.

The man took the unlit cigar from his mouth and held it between his fingers as he rolled the egg around in his hands, looking for imperfections. "Seto, what do you think?" he asked looking down at the older of the brother.

"It is nice," he answered grudgingly. While Joey had been pinned to the wall he'd watched Keller's every move. Her tail balanced  
perfectly, her eyes flared dangerously, and he would had bet his last dollar that if she had wanted to kill Joey it would have been done in the blink of an eye. She was a remarkable pit dragon. Nowhere near the same as his own, but impressive nonetheless. "The mother looks to be quite the specimen as well. Her tail is fast, and her horns are thick. They have never broken." Matt's eyebrows rose at his observations.

Quite a boy you have there, Kaiba! He is right, her horns have never so much as chipped."

"Hm," was his response, accompanied by a disinterested nod. "What is her stone of choice?" he asked, still rolling the egg in his hands.

"Hematite. Four pounds a day, nothing too intrusive," he shrugged, knowing a man with that kind of money wasn't really bothered by such a thing.

Nodding again, Kaiba put his cigar back in his mouth and picked his briefcase up. "I'll take them both, then, and see how they do." From inside the stall Joey looked up at the single, lonesome egg still in the stall, Keller's tail wrapped back around it while her eyes never left her two eggs, in the arms of the cold businessman. Although he now had a gaping wound in his arm from he, he couldn't help but feel sorry for the dragon. In the span of twenty-four hours, four of her five eggs had been taken. One stolen, one taken, and two held hostage from her.

How could he not feel sorry?

A check was written and Kaiba opened his brief case, which had padding and space enough for two eggs to rest comfortably. "My boys will also be staying here for study, my stables are no place for children to be roaming around." He spoke aloud, as if it interested Matt, which it didn't in the least. Still he went on. "Within the next few months, I will be sending a hatching along for Seto. I expect room to be made and a stall to be set up. Spare no expense."

Suddenly aware he was being put in charge of this task, Matt nodded as he took the check that was handed to him and stuffed it in his pocket. "Absolutely, sir."

Without another word Kaiba snapped his now-full briefcase shut, and turned on his heel to leave. Seto didn't look back, but a pair of chocolate eyes did. Joey swore he even heard a whisper of "What about Joey?"

Not to Joey's surprise the boy didn't look back with his brother, but instead took his hand to hurry him up and follow their father. Go figure, the money bags cared just about as much as his dad did. Wishing that his sister was around Joey groaned as he tried to move again. Agony radiated through his body as blood tickled down his arm, and when he tried to stand the scarlet liquid only ran faster. A wave of nausea rushed through him as he fell back onto the floor, resting his head against the wall weakly.

Not looking at him, Joey's father slammed the stall door shut, his footsteps echoing as he left the barn. Joey looked over to Keller who was resting peacefully, her single egg nuzzled closely by her side. "Stupid lizard…" he muttered as he rubbed his thumb against his fingers, trying to see if he had any feeling on his injured side. When he didn't feel anything he began trying to register the damage done. Torn muscle, potential nerve damage, nothing broken. All in all he'd seen worse - you didn't just walk away scar-free when you dealt with dragons.

Time passed and his bleeding didn't stop. Just when Joey thought he was about to faint the stall door slid open and someone came in. Blurred vision prevented him from seeing who it was, but before darkness engulfed him he saw one thing: Clear blue.


	2. Gift from a dragon

A very big thank you to my awesome beta reader xfallenangel13x!

* * *

Days later Joey woke in his bed, his honey eyes blinking open slowly as a white ceiling came faintly into view. His head was foggy,  
like he'd been sleeping for a long time, and his body ached as if he'd been through a hard day's labor the day before. Stiff, bruised, and obviously hurt, he didn't move for a while, merely laying there. It was a struggle in its own to stay awake as his body tried to lull him back into unconsciousness.

Groaning quietly he shifted under his covers, yelping when a bolt of pain shot through his left arm and shoulder, causing him to lay back flat with a quiet sigh. The pain served as a quick reminder to never piss off a nesting dragon.

Using his right hand, he yanked his blanket off and glanced over to the side, seeing his arm wrapped all the way from his elbow, around his shoulder and collar. Worried about nerve damage, he tapped his fingers together, relieved when he was able to feel the skin rubbing together, although but sensation wasn't very strong.

"Well, I still got my arm..." he muttered as he tried sitting up again, letting out a sharp breath as he pushed away the pain. A glance around told him it was still early morning, the rays seeping through the sheets he had hanging over his windows. They were fairly weak, unlike the strong beams that were given off by a high afternoon sun. Placing his feet on the floor Joey stood slowly, his arm throbbing painfully as the blood rushed back to the injured appendage.

Shuffling stiffly, he made his way to a dresser and pulled out a pair of old grey sweatpants, sloppily sliding them on with one hand. After falling over a few times, he leaned against the wall for support and managed to get his pants up, deciding a shirt just wasn't worth the extra effort. It wasn't like he was going anywhere right now, anyway.

"Serenity?" he called out as he ambled into the hallway of his house, wondering if anyone was home.

"Joey!?" she yelled back, followed by the sound of feet hitting the floor at a quick pace. Knowing what was coming Joey braced himself, trying his best to shield his injured arm as his sister came flying out of her room. Without warning or consideration she flung herself into him, wrapping her arms around him tightly and burying her head into his bare chest. "Joey you're awake! I was so worried!"

Frowning as he felt wet tears against his chest, he looked down at the top of his sister's head. "Worried? How long was I out for?"

"Days!" she sobbed lightly, struggling to get a hold on her emotions. "I was so scared when Dad didn't come back with you, but then Seto showed up with you."

"Seto?!" Joey had to keep himself from cringing. "Seto brought me here?"

Serenity gave a large sniff and pulled away from Joey with a nod. "Yeah, he and his dad helped get you out of the barn but Seto brought you into the house. Of course Dad had to act all worried, like he hadn't seen how hurt you were. I don't know if Kaiba fell for it though." She rubbed at her eyes to fight back tears.

"Tch." Joey clicked his tongue against the top of his mouth. "Well, I'm up now anyway. I could use some breakfast though, yeah?" he said with a smile, trying his best to hide the pain he was in. He always hated when she worried, it was like how his mother used to fuss over him. Serenity wasn't a child, she could take care of herself if needed, but the last thing Joey wanted was for the girl to feel like he was her responsibility.

Flashing one of her brilliant smiles, the young girl laced fingers with her brother's own, and dragged him to the other side of the house, into the kitchen area, where their father was cooking over the stove.

"You're up." he said, not turning to acknowledge the two.

"Yeah..." Joey said hesitantly, more interested in the bacon he was cooking, his mouth watered at the delicious smell. They hadn't had real bacon in months. No doubt it was a compliment of the check he'd gotten for Keller's eggs.

"Good, you can go clean out the stalls. I have to work on building a new one for Kaiba, so you'll be doing the cleaning." His tone left no room for argument.

"Even Keller's?" Joey asked watching as his father placed the bacon onto a plate then turned to face him, leaning his back against the counter.

"She doesn't have anymore eggs, so I don't see why not." he shrugged, taking a bit of bacon and biting a piece off.

Joey's face dropped, doing a quick math check in his head. "Huh?" he said stupidly, sure that she should still have one.

"Her last one was a dud," he explained, as if the fact didn't bother him or wasn't important.

"A dud?" He was so sure all of them had been healthy, at least they looked it. Normally false eggs were small and light. Hadn't his father checked each egg the night they'd been laid?

"What're you stupid? Yes, a dud. I threw it away when it cracked. Anyway, take the bike and get a move on." his dad said taking the last piece of cooked bacon and walking away to his room, shutting the door forcefully behind him.

"Wow, I thought for sure that was a good egg." he muttered as he stood and went to the fridge. To his dismay there was no more bacon, but he did find a generous helping of cooked ham which he helped himself to.

"I don't think it was bad..." he heard his sister's quiet voice from the table. With a piece of ham hanging from his mouth he chewed and gave her a questioning look.

Uneasily she glanced down the hall to where their father's room was. Once she was sure he wasn't coming back she whispered, "I think he's lying. You know how nasty he can be. The night he came home, after he threw it away, he was drunk."

Joey took the piece of ham from his mouth between his fingers while he chewed thoughtfully. "I hope she eats him one day..."

Now it was Serenity's turn to frown. "Don't say that!" The only thing she got in return was a shrug. "Just sayin'." He popped the last of the ham into his mouth and went back to his room, grabbing a shirt and slipping it on (with the help of his sister), then taking his hoodie, too, just in case it got cold. By the time he finished dressing and went back to the living room for his shoes Serenity was back in the kitchen, cooking what smelled like sausage.

Tying his shoe Joey stopped when a thought occurred to him. "Hey sis, how long did you say I was out for?" he asked looking up from his shoe laces.

"Three days, give or take a few hours." she said, looking up from the frying pan over her shoulder to him. "Why?"

Joey's face went blank momentarily before he shot up and raced out the front door, shouting good bye to his sister then hopping on his bike, ignoring the shooting agony that exploded from the wound in his arm.

"Joey!" Serenity's voice trailed after him in his haste, but she was unable to stop him. By the time she made it to the door he was already riding away on his bike.

Why hadn't he thought about it sooner?! The time he wasted talking to his dad when he could have been to the stable already. No-one had known about his egg, so no-one was able to check on it and make sure it kept warm! True, he had left the heated blankets on, but still knowing that it hadn't been tended to for days made him sick to his stomach. What if the worst had happened?

The worry made him pedal faster and he made it to the stables in half the time it normally took. When he hit the gravel out in front of the barn he slid his bike to a stop, dropping it on its side and running toward the door. "Just let it be alive... Please let it be alive!" he begged to some unseen force as he slid the large door open, running in ignoring the dragons that lay sleeping.

His hands slammed into the wall of the abandoned closet to stop himself as he searched for the loose board. When he found it he quickly pried it off to the side, wriggling between the boards and into the small room. There in the middle of the floor was the egg, wrapped in the blanket just the way he'd left it. Relief rushed over him and he crouched down to pick up the egg. He could feel the blood immediately drain from his face upon holding it.

"Cold..." he said breathlessly, smoothing his hand more firmly over the shell. "It's cold." He was shaking now. Not wanting to believe what he was feeling he took the egg up off the floor and held it softly to his cheek. It was stone cold, nothing in it was moving and it was still the same size as the day he had left it.

He gently set the egg on the ground and rest his forehead against it, tears trickling from his eyes, down his nose, and onto the lifeless egg. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, feeling completely responsible for the death of what was supposed to be his baby dragon. A different pain coursed through him, one he'd only felt once before, when his mother had died.

Alone, in the dark, and heartbroken, Joey sat for what could have been an hour, silently crying over the life and hope he had so suddenly lost. Never again would he take such a thing for granted, if he never had in the first place. Although he hadn't known the life growing in the egg, he'd loved it in some way, and now it was gone.

Once he had gathered himself enough Joey stood, tucking the cold heating blanket away in a corner and taking his egg up off the floor. He rubbed his running nose against his sleeve, still ignoring the horrible pain in his arm. The abuse it suffered on the ride over here hadn't gone unpunished, Joey just refused to allow it to bother him.

Squeezing himself back through the loose boards he took his egg outside and walked far out into the field until he settled on a quiet place. Kneeling, he set the egg beside him as he searched for a stone. When he found a large jagged slab of rock, he began to dig, not stopping until it was large enough to comfortably fit the egg. Silently he laid the egg into the hole and covered it gently with dirt, standing and dusting his hands off. Wiping a stay tear off his face he quietly went back to the barn, closing the door behind him as he went to start cleaning out the first stall. He slid the stall door open, coming face to face with the grey dragon.

Her head lifted lazily, her purple eyes gazing at Joey. Her whole demeanor was different than Keller, it was obvious she was more kind, less of a fighter. Too heartbroken to even speak, Joey grabbed a rake from outside the stall and came back, dragging the tool against the ground as he began to clean out the soiled hay. Joey disregarded her when she stood, shifting her weight from one front foot to another as she watched him. It wasn't until she moved closer that Joey bothered to look up.

"What?" he asked, his voice sharper than it should have been. She hadn't done anything to him, but still he felt angry, and it was easy to take it out on her. That realization was unsettling to him, it reminded him too much of his father. He quickly scolded himself for the action before pulling the rake back again to resume his job.

The dragon didn't seem to notice his tone, and if she did she dismissed it without a fuss. Rather than hiss at him she stood, boring her eyes into him as if searching for something.

Blinking a few times Joey looked down, not wanting to accidently challenge the dragon by staring. Staring was often the first and last mistake people would make when working with dragons, or any animal for that matter.

As he looked away the dragon's long neck shifted over to the side toward her eggs. Using the tip of her scaled nose she nudged her clutch around, shifting and moving her eggs. Just like she had when she took the egg from Joey she lifted one gently in her mouth, moving her neck gracefully back around then setting the egg at Joey's feet. To emphasize the point she gave it a small nudge closer to Joey, inviting him to pick it up.

Unlike the rest of the eggs, this one was larger, and had the slightest shades of grey to it. The others shone a brilliant gold, while this seemed to be dull; not quite as shiny. Warmth was radiating from the egg, and Joey guessed the dragon had just blown fire over it not too long ago. Confused, he looked up to the grey female.

She took a step back and wrapped her tail around her remaining eggs, giving Joey a slow blink before settling back down.

"What?" he asked, his mind still muddling with the physical and mental pain he was feeling. With a snort the dragon dismissed him, looking with lazy eyes from the egg to him. "It is your's isn't it?" she seemed to say.

Leaning over Joey bent down and picked up the egg, feeling how heavy it had grown. Inside he felt something move through the shell, causing it to shift slightly in his hands. The sensation sent a jolt through Joey's body, one that made his heart skip and his mind race. Talk about an emotional rollercoaster.

"Oh my god." he choked, feeling the tears he'd just managed to fight away come back again. His soft, blood shot honey brown eyes looked up at the dragon who was still watching him. "Thank you."

Unwrapping her tail the dragon stood again and softly took the egg from Joey, replacing it with the others then blowing a long stream of fire over them. Joey could swear he saw them all move slightly, twitching in pleasure as their mother's flame warmed them. Inhaling deeply the mother dragon looked back to Joey and they locked eyes for a moment, before she laid her head down on the ground. She didn't even bother to look up when Joey approached to get a closer look at his egg again.

The flame had heated the shell and now it shone a rosy red, but inside lingered a dark shape. It was the shape of a baby dragon, its nose tucked closely to its tail. Moving inside the egg, Joey could see its leg stretch out then settle back into place as it curled back up. Joey's heart swelled and he stepped back, feeling like he was somehow encroaching on her egg's space.

Grabbing his rake he went back and began to clean out the stall, his eyes glancing often to his egg and his second chance.

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Next chapter Seto comes back, and this time he has a friend. Please review : )


	3. The Hatchling

Beta read by the awesome xfallenangel13x

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Another long day of labor had passed. Not only had Joey cleaned out all eleven pens, but he had also been forced to help his father build Kaiba's new stall. Progress had been painstakingly slow, but his father had insisted on supervising every little thing that was done, saying it had to be perfect. To Joey, it was all ridiculous. A flowing fountain built into the walls, which were heated, and stone floors that retained said heat. Seto's stinking dragon could sleep on the concrete just like the rest of them for all he cared.

"I still dun get it," he muttered as he sanded down an uneven piece of brick in the floor. "I mean what's the difference? It's not like it's cold in here."

Quite the opposite, actually. It was scorching hot; the fiery breath of nearly a dozen dragons serving as insulation. The only thing cold in his barn was the occasional gust of wind, or a piece of frozen fish served as dinner. He glanced over at his father, who was glaring at him. "You work when someone pays you to work; that's what way of the world Joey. Get used to it."

With a heavy sigh Joey sat back on his knees, looking at the now-perfectly-even floor. His shirt lay uselessly by the door, and his pale body was sleek, covered in a thin layer of sweat. Along his arm ran an angry red scar, fresh from where his wound had healed over. After days of care and receiving much less rest then he should have, Joey came to the conclusion he'd lost a substantial amount of feeling in his hand.

He came said conclusion just a few days ago, when a hammer missed its mark and slammed against his thumb. Of course it had hurt, but not nearly as bad as it should have. Silently, he studied his father, fiddling with the wires that connected to the heated floor. Unspoken was the fact that his father was doing a piss-poor job, his welding sloppy and his wires barely connecting. "Go home, I'll finish here," Joey said as he stood, grabbing a pair of wire cutters and a set of gloves.

"What the hell do you know about this?" his father snapped as he yanked a wire from the wall, causing a stone to come loose.

"Great." Joey pouted to himself. "Another thing I have to fix." Sliding his gloves on, his eyes lifted to meet those of his father. "I know that welding needs to be smooth, wires need to be tight and grounded, and loose ends need to be bonded."

Matt stood, dropping the wire he held in his hand and pulling his gloves off with his teeth. "If you fuck this up, don't bother coming home Joseph. Get it done tonight too, Kaiba will be here tomorrow."

Joey had to bite his lip from speaking. "Don't fuck up on purpose…..don't fuck up on purpose…." His eyes almost screwed up at the restraint he was secretly displaying.

"Yes, sir," he breathed out quickly, surprised when the words left his mouth. Phew; that had been a close one.

Stepping aside his father whisked past with a grunt, brushing his shirt free of stone dust as he left the stable. Joey's head stuck out of the stall as he watched him leave. The snap of the barn door as it closed could be heard, and at the same time Joey threw his gloves off and onto the ground. Grabbing his shirt and putting it on, Joey rushed out of the stall. Tripping on the edge of the door in his haste, the teen scrambled to the end of the barn, down to the stall where the gray dragon (whom he now affectionately referred to as Nai) lay.

He clicked his tongue between his teeth and snapped his fingers to get her attention, waiting as she stretched awake, her tail wrapped around her clutch of growing eggs. A lazy yawn escaped her mouth, waves of heat rushing from her as she stood, giving the stall a circle to work out her stiff legs.

"Hey, Nai." His voice was smooth and calm, a hand reaching out to touch her muzzle. Slipping his other hand into his pocket he pulled out a small piece of deer jerky and tossed it into her mouth. Her teeth snapped shut around the small treat and she hummed happily, closing her eyes and leaning her head into Joey as he scratched at the scales on her head. "How is our love doing, hm?"

With another rumble the dragon pulled back and lowered her head over the eggs, picking up the darkest of the clutch and settling it at Joey's feet. With a smile he flopped onto his butt and sat down, pulling the egg into his lap. "Nai, you're a fine mother," he cooed as he smoothed his hands over the egg and it gave a twitch in his lap. "Haha, see? He agrees!"

The dragon thumped her tail, amused as one of her own eggs gave a quick jerk. All attention was suddenly on the eggs as another rocked violently, rolling onto its side. Joey's hand rested on his egg as he watched it roll again. It twitched, then split right down the center. His heart hammered against his chest as another crack appeared, his one larger than the last.

It didn't move for quite some time after that. Seconds passed, then minuets. Worried for the baby Joey leaned forward, mindful of his own egg and went to assist the hatchling, only to be stopped by Nai, who gazed upon him with accusing eyes. "But it needs help…."

She snorted in response, and Joey sat back once more. Minutes later, the egg cracked and a small leg popped out, looking as if the dragon had karate-kicked the shell off. Joey had to fight back his laughter. "Guess it was juss' savin' up its energy." He chuckled as the dragon's nose popped out of the hole its foot had made.

Slowly, the dragon made the hole bigger and while it was taking on the monumental task of coming into the world, its brother and sister decided to make an appearance as well. One came out quickly, a sharp jab of her nose breaking off a large piece of shell that allowed her to roll out onto the floor. Her damp wings flopped hopelessly at her side and she let out a shriek, desperately calling for her mother. The cry was not left unheard as Nai leaned down and nuzzled her mouth against her baby's body, lifting the delicate baby up and onto her back, waiting for her eyes to open.

While Nai tended to the baby, licking her clean and nudging her, the other dragons found their way out of their temporary home and into their new lives, crying out just like the one before. Joey watched in wonder and finally he looked back to his egg with anticipation. "Aw come on…" he sighed rubbing the shell of his egg with both hands. "Don't make me wait longer."

As if on cue, the egg gave a great shudder and Joey slid himself back to give it some space, swearing his heart had stopped. Again it moved, and rolled around, just like the others had before. First one crack appeared, then another. The first part of the dragon to appear was a small tail, the sharp tip poking through a weak point in the shell.

Upon seeing the tail Joey's mind began to work again, it dawned upon him what, exactly, was happening. "Shit!" He jumped up at the realization. He didn't have towels, a heating pad, or anything!

"Shit, shit, shit, shit!" he shouted as he ran out of the stall like an idiot, running all the way to the end of the barn to a storage closet. Not bothering with keeping organized he yanked a fistful of towels off the shelf, the rest falling to the floor. Grabbing a bottle of water and a sponge, the blonde quickly returned to Nai's pen.

His dragon had made quick work of the egg. Joey slid to a stop on his knees just in time, watching as the dragon gave a great stretch, and split the egg in half. It stood up, unbalanced, but began shaking the shell free from its small body. Not wanting to miss a moment, Joey scooped the baby up in the towel and began to clean it off, removing the egg membrane and generating warmth. Like the others, it shrieked and called out, its eyes still closed as it tried to climb onto Joey's shirt, seeking the warmth of his chest.

"Hey, calm down, now," Joey said as he took water and wetted the sponge, using it to clear away the thick mucus that surrounded the dragon's eyes. Struggling in protest, the baby nipped at his hands and moved its head away. Joey continued until a small ruby eye was blinking open and looking up at him. He cleared the other away, stopping as the baby clung to his shirt, both red eyes watching him, taking him in.

Without a warning, it sneezed, a fireball escaping its mouth, catching the boy's shirt on fire. "What tha-" Joey stood frantically and unhooked the baby from him, setting it gently on the floor. Stripping his shirt, he stomped on the blaze to put it out. Glaring at the youngster, it gave a small hiccup and walked over to Joey, ignoring Nai altogether. While the rest of her young slept soundly on her back, between her wings, the sleek black dragon stretched its nails and proceeded to climb up Joey's jeans.

His jaw slacked in disbelief at how mobile the small thing was, Joey looked to Nai, his face lost and confused. The mother dragon snorted and looked at Joey with apprehension. "I did my part, now it's your problem," the offhanded glanced seemed to say.

Looking back at his dragon, who was now desperately clawing at the bare skin of his waist, he reached down to grab her before she could scratch his skin. "Okay, okay! Geeze." She settled down as soon as she was pressed against Joey's chest. Not knowing what else to do Joey grabbed the dirty towels, sponge, and shirt, before leaving the stall. He felt as if he should somehow thank Nai, but he wasn't sure how. If it weren't for her, this baby dragon wouldn't be around.

Closing the stall door, he set the hatchling down long enough to put the dirty towels and sponge away then drank the rest of the water, trying to ignore the blistering heat in the barn. On his way out of the laundry room he stumbled over his dragon, falling flat on his face when he danced around to avoid stepping on its fragile body. Apparently displeased with Joey's sudden departure, it had gone looking for its parental figure, wandering with shaking legs down the hall.

Joey's face was level with the dragon's, and his honey-brown eyes looked square into the face of the baby. "Was that really necessary?" he muttered, the dragon squeaking in response, pleased to have found him. "Now you look here-" Joey lifted himself off the floor and bent down to pick the dragon up. "-I have work I gotta do, okay? If I dun finish it, I'ma be in big trouble."

He stepped into the unfinished stall and set the dragon down, picking up the gloves he'd thrown down earlier. "Be good!" he warned the infant sternly.

A job that would had only taken an hour took four, as breaks were often needed for accidental fires, escape attempts, indigestion of foreign objects, and, of course, the occasional chasing of a mouse, all compliments of the new born reptile. Quite rapidly Joey had been thrown into the world of parenting, reminding him of the days he would chase Serenity around the house, trying to keep her out of trouble.

"I thought you guys needed a few days to grow!" Joey muttered as he put his tools away, satisfied with the wiring and began to sweep out the stall. The baby chased a few small rolling pebbles that moved when Joey swept and after that Joey sat down, his bare back pressed to the warm wall. Without hesitation the baby curled up in his lap and Joey gave a deep yawn, glancing outside through the skylight to be greeted by twinkling stars.

"It has been a long day, huh?" he mused, tickling the baby with the tip of his finger behind a budding horn. Tail tucked to its nose, and wings limply clinging to its sides, the youngster fell asleep. She was cute, in her own way, although dangerous. Its scales were as dark as the night sky, its tail was tipped perfectly, and soon it would solidify into a deadly weapon. The hatchling gave a hiccup in its sleep, making Joey smile. "Harmless as a tiny salamander," he chuckled quietly before closing his eyes, drifting off into sleep.

"Oh, god..." An unpleasant tone woke Joey early the next morning. For some reason it sent a wave of aggravation through him, like a loud alarm clock. He knew that voice from somewhere, he was sure. Still not opening his eyes Joey stretched and yawned, realizing he had curled up around his dragon.

"I didn't know they allowed morons the right to own dragons." Damn... that voice was back again. Joey's face scrunched together unpleasantly and he sat up, opening his eyes, rubbing them furiously. "It figures, too; your dragon is as lazy as you."

Finally it set in, that familiar snarky tone that accompanied those ungodly blue eyes. "Seto?" Joey sat wide awake and eyes open, looking at the young boy who stood at the stall door. At his side was something Joey hadn't seen before. Next to him, stood a white dragon, with blue eyes as stunning as his owner's. Although young, it was strong, with broad shoulders, thick legs, a slim but toned neck, and a sturdy tail that looked like it could knock a hole in a wall. This had to be one of the great white dragons that the tamers so often spoke of.

"Magnificent isn't he? Take it in, Wheeler. This is what a real dragon looks like," he sneered as his eyes looked pathetically over the hatchling that stood by Joey.

"He was only born yesterday!" Joey spat back defensively. Who gave a shit if this kid's father paid for his dinner or not; he wasn't about to allow his dragon to be spoken to like that!

Rolling his eyes, Seto leaned his shoulder against the frame of the stall door. "And? Addis had already been spitting fire by then."

Anger flared in Joey, his eyes burning and his hands clenched into fists. About to tell Seto he could go piss off, the other boy spoke before he could get a word out.

"Look, I don't care if I have to be around you, just keep your inbred dog away from my dragon, okay Wheeler?" Seto walked into the stall, Addis snapping at the hatchling as it moved out of the way, clinging closer to Joey's leg. Protectively, Joey bent down and picked up the baby. "Oh, and put a shirt on, would you? You're making me nauseous."

With wide, disbelieving eyes, Joey backed out of the stall, at a loss for words at just how damn rude a person could be. Standing in the hall Joey watched as Seto inspected the stall, looking for mistakes that he would never find, ignoring Joey, as if he had turned invisible.

"Whatever." Joey snorted as he set his dragon back down, turning to leave the barn. Opening the large door he stopped in his tracks when he realized two things. One, his father was now standing in front of him, and two, the baby dragon was still stuck at his heels, giving Joey an expectant look.

"Uhh... hey..." Joey stammered to think of something coherent to say.

Matt's eyebrows furrowed and his lips set into a deep frown. "What is that?" he asked pointing at the baby dragon, which looked remarkably similar to his own...

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Left it on a slight cliffhanger. Any thoughts on what'll happen? R&R :)


	4. Ciaran

Hello to my lovely followers and Lo, thank you for your review, I'm glad you enjoyed my first chapter : ) ButterCat, keep reviewing and I will keep writing : )

A very big thank you to my beta reader xfallenangel13x

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"Uh, this is... uh..." Joey fumbled with his words stupidly. It took everything he had to not start shaking on the spot. His father's face was twisted in an expression that was between that of rage and confusion.

"A gift, from my father, for allowing me to occupy your barn," Seto's voice cut in from behind Joey, causing him to unintentionally jump.

Still, Matt's eyebrows remained furrowed. "A gift?" he asked, skepticism layered thickly in his voice.

"Did I stutter?" Now it was Seto's turn to look irritated - almost as if someone had just spit in his face. "Yes, a gift. If you'd rather not accept it, then by all means, I will take her with me upon my return to my home." Matt may have been an asshole, but he wasn't a stupid man, and knew when to not to refuse a gift.

"N-Not necessary, Master Kaiba." Joey smirked inwardly at his father's attempt at being polite, or a kiss-ass, depending on which way you looked at it. "Just, what good does a dragon do me if it isn't mine?"

Seto shrugged, his lips curing up in a way that made him seem like he cared less. "That isn't of my concern, but clearly it has taken a liking to your son. Isn't it your intention to have him raise dragons, anyways?"

The way Seto spoke made Joey wonder just how old he was. Seto had a way of talking like an adult; a powerful one, at that. Like everything around him was dirt beneath his feet, and anyone that spoke to him was strictly for amusement purposes. Or just out of plain senselessness. His voice was as cold and smooth as the ice that seemed to color his eyes.

"Joey, raise a dragon?" his father couldn't help but laugh; a rich, mocking sound that made Joey flush with embarrassment. "He couldn't beat a dragon in the face if it were about to eat him, for God's sake! What makes you think he could tame a dragon?" he laughed again, this time for good measure.

Seto looked at him, shrugged again, and walked away, his dragon following along by his side. Joey was desperate to grab him and ask what he was thinking, but he knew now wasn't the time. The consequences of his father finding out about their lie was enough to make him shudder. The mere thought made gooseflesh raise on his arms.

His father leaned down to look at the hatchling that stood at Joey's side, who subconsciously tensed, ready to leap to his reptilian companion's aid, if need be. "She is a beauty..." he admitted in a quiet mutter, but was loud enough for Joey to hear.

"She?" he hadn't caught the reference before, but now he wasn't worried about being thrown halfway across the barn. This small fact led him to listen a bit more intently than before.

"Jesus, boy, have you learned absolutely nothing over the years you've worked with these beasts? Yes, she. See the extra claw on her paws, like a thumb?" Joey leaned forward, and saw what his father was pointing to, before nodding. "It helps them move the eggs."

"Huh." Joey bent down and picked her up, ignoring her sharp talons as they dug into his skin. "So... I can keep her then?"

Matt straightened up and snorted. "Not in my damn house, you can't, and I'm not feeding her either. Or training her, for that matter. If you want to keep her, then you keep her. I'm not having shit to do with her." He brushed past Joey and into the stable. "Oh, and good luck affording stones for her. If I catch your ass anywhere near my room looking for money, you'll regret it. Got it?"

Joey paled and nodded quickly, clutching the dragon tighter to him, as if she would somehow protect him.

"Good." And with that, father left son standing there, with a very hungry baby dragon, clueless on how to get her any food. Looking down at her, Joey sighed and scratched the back of his head, thinking about how he could come up with something for her to eat on such a short notice.

Now that he felt safe, Joey set the dragon on the ground, and began to walk out toward the field where he had buried his other egg a few weeks ago. Glancing down at the dragon next to him, it was hard to believe that such a short amount of time had passed. It felt like a lifetime separated then and now. Along the way through the large meadow, his dragon snapped at a few dragonflies, running off, but quickly scampering back when she realized how far she had strayed away.

Together they walked through a short patch of woods and came to a decent-sized stream. Joey leaned over the edge, watching as a few fish swam by, his reflection staring back at him in the water. "Mm'kay, now listen up!" He turned to look at his dragon, who gazed up at him with big, innocent eyes, glowing a warm cerise. "This is called fishin'." He pointed down into the water. "Ya' use ya' claws and reach in, then pull one out and eat it."

The ruby eyes just blinked at him as he spoke, giving Joey feeling of talking to a brick wall. With an exasperated sigh, Joey began to unlace his shoes, kicking them off and stuffing his socks into them, before tossing them away from the stream.

"Okay, watch and learn." He dipped his feet into the frigid water, letting out distressed cries of "ah!" and "eh!" when the freezing liquid stung his bare feet painfully. "Oh God, this sucks! Oh, this really sucks…" All the while, his hatchling watched with interest from the shore. She'd even laid down to observed the so-called 'lesson'.

"Alright… Okay…" Joey tried to settle himself, bringing his attention away from his feet and back down to the water. Standing very still, a few fish curiously swam up to his toes. Joey dove in for the win, only to come up cold, wet, and empty-handed. From the shore, his dragon was now on her feet, screeching happily at the sudden excitement, her body wiggling back and forth. She almost looked amused.

Squinting over at her like it was her fault, Joey clenched his teeth and stood still again, watching as a particularly large fish swam up. Inching his hands closer to the water, the blonde was just about to spring forward, when his dragon jumped off the shore bank and dove right into the water, splashing about happily and successfully scaring off all of the fish.

"Are you crazy!?" he shouted, the dragon stopping immediately and shrinking down into the water, her scaly face apologetic. "Come on, now, I'm tryin' ta' catch you food." His tone was softer as he picked up the dripping dragon and placed her back on the grass. "Now, stay here."

Muttering to himself that the third time is the charm, he went back to the center of the creek and stood, waiting for the fish to come back. Slowly he lowered his hands into the water and then lashed forwards, grappling for the fish. He was surprised when he actually managed to catch it.

The bad news was he was so startled at the alien feeling of strong muscles and scaly, wet skin, that his hand immediately let it go on instinct. Lying face down in the creek, Joey stood on his hands and knees, looking over to his dragon who was still watching, fully engrossed in his every movement.

Frustrated, cold, and defeated, Joey crawled out of the brook and sat next to her on the bank. He stared absently at the water as violent shivers wracked through his body. "Maybe fish isn't the best way ta' go," He muttered, placing a hand on his dragon's back, seeking some sort of comfort.

Rather than nuzzle against him she stood, eyes piercing into the water below her. A dark, smoky outline of a bass seemed to have caught her attention. Without warning, she tucked her wings against her body, aligned her neck with her back and dove into, the water, looking very similar to salamander, or a newt. Her arms were hugged to her sides, while her tail propelled her through the water swiftly. Joey watched as her jaw opened and she snatched the small bass. She then popped out of the moving water, and onto the grass, the fish wriggling madly in her jaws, in attempt to regain its freedom.

"You've gotta' be jokin'!" Joey sighed heavily as she sat down next to him and bit into her meal, abruptly ending all attempts of escape from the creature.

This went on for another half hour or so, the dragon catching and eating her fill. Just as she was finishing her most recent prize - a catfish - the sound of a twig snapping caught Joey's attention. With a glance over his soaked shoulders, he saw Seto and Addis walking up to them through the woodlands.

"Wheeler, did you fall in on accident, or did you decide to go for a swim?" he sneered as Addis left his side to go dip his muzzle into the river for a drink.

Doing his best to ignore him Joey looked down at his dragon, wincing when she bit into it, causing blood to spray across her face. Ah, the flattery of owning a dragon. Gruesome little creatures... His honey eyes left the grotesque sight, and settled instead on the flowing water. Although he wanted to punch Seto in the face (VERY badly, might he add), he did owe him. If it wasn't for him, Joey's father may have... He didn't want to think about what his father might have done to him, or his dragon.

"What, no back talking from the mutt and his inbred bitch?" Seto threw the insult so casually, it was scandalizing. Without thinking it, nor being fully aware of what he was doing, Joey was on his feet, and Seto was pinned against a nearby tree. The once-soft amber eyes, usually aloof and mischievous, were now fierce, a blaze with rage.

"Shut up!" he yelled, slamming Seto's back into the tree again for good measure. Both of their dragons had stopped, staring intently. Addis' tail was thumping against the ground in a manifestation of his unease. "Don't you dare call her that!"

A grin struck across Seto's face. "What, can't handle the truth, Wheeler?" he jabbed.

Joey let go of Seto and took a step back. "No. What I can't handle are rich moneybags like you, thinking you know everything, insulting whatever has less than you."

"Who said this had anything to do with money?" Seto asked, that damnable grin still on his face.

Joey frowned in confusion, looking back at his dragon. He scowled after a moment. "Just stay the hell away from me, alright?" he spat, before releasing the Kaiba and going to pick up his shoes and his dragon. It was easy, holding her with one arm, now that she was calmer and had a full stomach.

"If I were you, Wheeler, I'd start working with that weakling now, if you want any chance of keeping up with the real dragon tamers," Kaiba jeered loudly, as Joey was walking away, making sure he could still hear him.

"Whatever…." Joey muttered under his breath, making his way out of the trees and back into the meadow. He carried his dragon the entire way, and they were back at the stables before he set her down again. She dug at the gravel near the entrance, then wandered about for a bit, constantly glancing back to make sure Joey was still nearby.

Allowing her some free time, Joey sat with his back to the barn, picking at the grass and twirling a blade between his fingers. It was cold out, but the sun's rays were now hitting him directly, warming his skin that was still bitter cold from the creek. His toes had taken on a nasty shade of blue-purple, so he slid his socks and shoes back on. The boy sat back as he glanced around the field.

As much as he hated to admit it, Seto was right. Even though she was only a day old, there was a lot for his little dragonette to learn. In the next year, she would quadruple in size, have teeth the width of his wrist. She would be able to spit fire hot enough to melt metal, and powerful enough to burn down villages. If there was ever a time for training, it was now, while she was still small and manageable.

Looking from the blade of grass in his hand to his dragon, he squinted against the late afternoon sun that glared in his eyes, watching her jump and frolic after a butterfly. Unable to help himself, a smile flashed across his face, the scene reminding him of his mother, when he was young and she was still alive... "She woulda' loved her…" he murmured solemnly.

A memory came into his mind, one of his mother and him in the kitchen, eating cereal. Joey had been enthusiastically talking with her about owning a dragon one day, determination written across his youthful face. Things had been so different then. So perfect.

His father had been nicer, and his mother was so loving and caring. Serenity was just a baby. Everything seemed so right... The taste of a real family hung in his mouth, though now nothing more than a bittersweet memory.

"Remember, Joey, a name is one of the most important things you can give to your dragon. Only a real dragon owner can name a dragon, and have it not only hear them, but listen to them, as well," she had told him.

Biting on his lip, Joey watched his dragon move around, her sleek black scales gleaming like oil in the sunlight. He began to ponder on what, exactly, he would name the little tyke.

"Kyra…? Hm, no..." He shook his head, and thought some more. "Elodin?" Again he shook his head, plucking another blade of grass from the ground. Midnight? Too common. Shadow? Lame. Ryder? Not bad, but sounded too much like it was from a clichéd movie.

Frustrated he tossed the blade of grass aside and looked back at his dragon. "Ciaran…?" The Gaelic name rolled off his tongue, easy and sweet. A smile caught his lips and he stood up, walking over to separate her from her newfound, fluttering friend. "My Ciaran... What do you think?" he asked, holding her and looking into her eyes.

The hatching snorted and wiggled in his hands, unsure as to why she had been separated from her game. Still holding a fond smile, Joey tucked her under his arm and walked back into the stables to see if he could find a place for her to sleep for the night. He also wanted to leave before Seto came back. He wasn't too sure if he could restrain from punching that pretty face of his.


	5. Titanium

Another thank you to xfallenangel13x for being my beta.

* * *

That night, Joey rode his bike back home, content only when he found that Nai had allowed Ciaran to sleep in her stall with the other hatchlings. It had been hard to leave; some irrational part of him wanted to stay, but his aching stomach and exhaustion eventually won, and Joey had to rip himself away from the barn.

Stumbling into the house, Joey went straight to the refrigerator and helped himself to a large bowl of cereal, taking a seat at the kitchen table as he slowly ate his food. The more full he became, the more tired he felt, and soon Joey's head was sinking down closer to his bowl, with his eyes fluttering with the attempt to stay open every so often.

A loud clank on the table startled him awake. Looking around wildly for the source of his interrupted slumber, Joey watched his father sit down across from him. He pointed to a black rod that had been tossed down next to Joey's bowl.

"What's this?" the teen questioned, dropping his spoon and picking up the item.

"A nightstick. You'll need it if you want to get a firm handle on that thing," his father grunted.

Frowning, Joey studied the stick. His finger glided across it, before it pressed a button that was built into the center of the handle. The rod extended into a metal stick. At the end was a prong-like fixture with electricity zapping out from it, surprising Joey and causing him to drop it in alarm.

"You teach them early with a taser stick, then hopefully, if it goes right, you can settle for a nightstick at about... a year old." Joey's stomach churned unpleasantly at the casual way his father spoke about this. Was he really expected to electrocute his day-old dragon?

"You want me to shock her?" his eyes looked up to him, almost as if he were pleading with Matt to say "no".

Instead of withdrawing what he said, the man just looked at Joey, bewildered. Almost as if he were some sort of mental case. "Joseph, it will be a huge fucking beast in a year! Huge! It will want to eat your face off, and burn trees down. Do you really think saying 'please' will work?"

"Well… no, but - I mean… I jus' thought…" he stammered quietly, before studying the dangerous 'tool' in his grasp. He finished his small ramble with a dim, "I dunno'," looking rather disheartened. What had he thought? She would just grow up to be a fighter and he wouldn't have to do anything to get there?

"Just nothing, Joey. This is how things work. Get used to it." His father stood and clapped a hand to his shoulder when he passed. "I've worked with them for years, Joe. Believe me; they're too stupid to do anything that you don't make them do."

Joey kept silent as his dad went back into his room, still staring at the electric prod that sat lifelessly on the table. No longer hungry, he took his bowl and emptied it in the sink, grabbing the training tool and heading off to his own room. Upon entry, he closed the door behind him, and sat at a computer desk.

Now that he was wide awake, he figured he might as well research the matter, and began to scan the internet for tips and tricks. Forum after forum, and site after site, spoke about the use of electric prods, nightsticks, and even self-heating branding irons (the last bit had left Joey feeling rather terrified and queasy). Late into the night he continued, until accidently stumbling across one website that gave him an inkling of hope. One that told him things could be done differently.

It was by a tamer he'd never heard of, but she seemed to know what she was talking about, so Joey spent the remainder of his night reading her reports, until his eyes stung. Positive reinforcement, body language, even dietary needs were there. Eventually, however, he fell asleep at the computer, shamelessly drooling on the keyboard.

* * *

"Joey! Joey, wake up! Dad is going to leave you here again!" Serenity shook her brother harder. "Joey… wake… up!" This time, she yanked the computer chair out from under him, causing her older sibling to crash to the floor.

His eyes shot open, dark circles looming around them in an unappealing shadow. His brain was fuzzy, still partially trapped under the haze of sleep. "W-Wha...?" He rubbed his eyes with one hand ran the other through his tousled, golden tresses. Never mind the fact that his ass felt like it had just been broken from hitting the hardwood floor.

"Get up! Dad is leaving!" she repeated firmly, grabbing him by the arm and hauling him up from his spot on the floor. "Here," Serenity chirped, stuffing a sloppily-made sandwich into his hand, followed by a clean shirt thrown at his face, before she promptly shoved him out the bedroom door.

Still laden with sleep, it took another moment for Joey to grab his shoes and head outside, rushing to get into his father's truck before they took off toward the stables. During the ride, neither of them spoke. Joey just put his shoes on and ate his sandwich, leaving the shirt his sister had given him off to the side. If he was going to change, he might as well hold off until after work; there was no point in getting a clean shirt dirty.

"Did you think about what I said last night?" Matt inquired suddenly, finally breaking the silence as they turned onto the long gravel driveway that led to the family barns.

"Yeah…" Joey was quiet with his reply, hinting that he didn't really want to talk about it.

"And?" he prompted.

"And, what? I heard what you said," he muttered, still trying to avoid the subject like a plague. None too subtly, at that.

"Are you going to do it, or what?" The tone in his father's voice was getting edgy, annoyed.

"No, I'm not!" Joey practically shouted back, not from anger, but rather, from raw nerves. He knew it wasn't the desired response, but damn did Joey suck at lying.

"What do you mean, you're not?" This time it was clear Matt was angry. His tone was harsh and risen to a near-yell, incredulous and practically outraged.

"Well, I did some reading... and there are other ways to train. I just thought I'd give it a try and-" He was cut off.

"Joey, for the love of God - are you serious? I knew you were a damn sissy, but fuck!" Matt slammed his hands against the steering wheel, causing Joey to cringe. "What'd you go about reading, some pansy bullshit about how you can reason with them? They are dumb animals Joe, dumb fucking animals! You'll only end up dead if you don't take this seriously!"

Was his father actually concerned about him? The thought caught Joey by surprise, and he was silent for a moment. He didn't know what to say. Numerous beatings and taught him to not back down, so it wasn't like he was about to apologize or change his mind. Ciaran was his, after all, so he could deal with her as he pleased. Hell, he could let her go in the mountains and there wouldn't be anything a damn person could do about it.

When the truck slowly rolled to a stop, Joey wasted no time in jumping out of the vehicle, and rushing into the barn. Quickly, he opened the door to Nai's pen. A wide grin plastered over his face when Ciaran rushed out to greet him. The baby slithered up his body, coming to rest on his shoulder with a happy squeak.

Joey reached up and scratched under her chin, her tail twitching furiously in pleasure. "That's the spot, huh?" He smiled as her neck rose to follow his finger in hopes of being scratched longer. Almost like a cat.

Matt came into the barn, glaring down at his son. "Get to work," he growled threateningly, obviously still heated over their conversation (or rather, argument) in the car.

Not needing to be told twice, Joey went about feeding and watering the dragons. As he finished up, the boy went to the back of the barn and entered through a door that had a giant lock on it. Before, the door had been tightly secured, but since only Matt had a key and was currently in the stables, he'd left it unlocked for Joey to use freely.

Pushing the door open, Joey looked around the medium-sized, well-lit room. It was packed with wooden, brass-built barrels. Each one had a lid tightly shut on it. One, however, was smaller than the rest, and Joey realized it to be new. Curious, he went over to inspect the barrel, stopping when he saw the initials of 'S.K.' engraved into them.

Rolling his eyes, Joey went back to the front of the room, where several different tools hung on rusting nails, and removed a crowbar from its perch. "Pretty boy has put his name everywhere... Even on his stones. Kinda' stuck up, eh, Ciaran?" he murmured absently to the little dragon, who didn't reply. She was far too engrossed in watching as Joey used the crowbar to pry the lid off the nearest barrel.

In it, was a cluster of light purple stones, which he knew to be amethysts. Picking up a large plastic scoop that was in the barrel, Joey filled it up then emptied it into a nearby bucket, which was placed by the door. He repeated the process with each barrel, going through various stones as he worked. Hematite, smokey quartz, rose quartz, tiger's eye, the list went on. It was like a dragon's supermarket. The entire time, Joey kept a close eye on Ciaran.

After eleven buckets had been filled, he went about giving them to the appropriate dragons. Keller received a meal of hematite. To Nai, went the smokey quartz. The male in stall ten got tiger's eye, and so on and so forth. Only when the buckets were all emptied and stacked against the back wall of the room, did Joey close the door behind him. Before locking up, however, he quickly swiped a single stone from each of the brass containers. All except for Seto's, that is. Seto could feed his own freaking dragon.

With a handful of various gemstones, Joey gently took Ciaran, and set her on the ground in front of him. He crouched down, smiling, before her. "Look here, girl. Which do you like?" he asked quietly, offering them for her in the palms of his hands. She sniffed at them with mild interest, but to Joey's dismay, she abruptly stuck her nose up at them.

"Wha…? But you gotta' like at least one of 'em!" he groaned, pushing his hand towards her again in the hopes that she'd change her mind. This time, she didn't even spare the gems a second glance.

"Great..." Joey stood and put each gem back, hammering the lids back into place before leaving the room, letting Ciaran follow along beside him.

Not realizing she'd just put Joey in a bad mood, Ciaran began to make odd little chirping noises, showing that she was hungry. And to make matters worse, someone with annoyingly familiar brown hair and blue eyes was just entering the barn entrance, crossing paths with the irritable blonde. Joey bit his lip as even the mere aura of the young Kaiba sent his blood boiling with irritation.

With a starving baby dragon at his side, Joey walked by Seto with his head cast down, desperately trying to avoid confrontation this early in the morning. Not to mention he was drop-dead tired. Another argument wasn't high on his list of priorities that particular morning.

They passed without any sort of verbal nor physical contact, thankfully, and Joey slipped Ciaran into Nai's stall to nurse. Relief flooded him when the she-dragon allowed the youngster to nurse freely. That was one problem he didn't have to worry about, for the time-being. Although it was a somewhat poor substitute for gemstones, it would offer Joey a few more weeks to come up with a plan for getting the amount of food Ciaran was sure to eat. And that amount, he knew, would only grow larger with the hatchling as she, herself, grew and matured.

He observed silently for a moment as the little dragon fed, then left the stall quietly. Passing Seto's stall to get a fresh bale of hay, he couldn't help but to peek into the stall as he walked by. What he saw about gave him a heart attack. "Diamonds?!" he exclaimed in disbelief, stopping in his tracks, the bale of hay hanging loosely in front of him. "He eats diamonds?" He put extra emphasis on the last word.

Amused, Seto stood, just having put a large handful of said precious stone on the ground that Addis was eating away at. It was no wonder his scales were such a beautiful white shade!

"Not all of us have to worry about where we get our next meal from, Wheeler," Seto chided smugly, going over to the door, contemplating if he should slam it in the teen's face. He couldn't help not taking a jab or two at the blonde, though. It was so easy. Not to mention an entertaining pastime for the multi-millionaire child. "What? Did you find out that yours eats lava rocks?"

A pathetic choice stone for a pathetic dragon, in his eyes.

"She wouldn't eat any of them," Joey said, blatantly ignoring Seto's stinging insult. He was starting to understand that Seto's comments and snarky behavior were not to be taken personally. It seemed like it was just natural for him. Like a skunk, he thought with amusement, holding back a smirk. They smelt horrible, but they couldn't help it.

"Ha!" the brunette snorted quietly, "Did you try feeding her dirt?" Seto laughed at his own joke, while Joey proceeded to do them both the favor of taking the stall's door handle in his fingers, and slamming it shut. Even through the heavy, insulating wood, he could still hear Seto laughing.

"Stupid Kaiba," he grumbled as he grabbed the large bale of hay, and went to a stall, spreading it around until it was even throughout the floor. Its reptilian occupant only cast his a single, disinterested glance, before returning to its nap that Joey had disrupted.

Just as he was finishing up, Ciaran's tiny head poked around the door. She seemed to beam with a draconian smile, squeaking happily as she trotted into the stall. Her comfortably full belly dragged close to the ground. Worried about how the other dragon might react, Joey quickly scooped her up in his arms and backed out of the stall, closing the door behind him. He slide the reinforced lock shut, securing it.

Now done with his list of chores Joey set Ciaran back on the ground, searching for his father. Although he had let Seto's remark about the stone go, he still knew it was a problem. Without proper digestion of a dragon's mineral they would develop poorly, and that was the last thing Joey needed. From what he had gathered from his research the previous night, he had very little time to figure out what the hatchling would eat.

His father had just finished his morning inspection of the dragons when Joey came up, and asked if he could leave. "I want to take Ciaran back to the river so she can learn to fish." A bold-faced lie. Joey couldn't believe he was saying it with such ease.

The man tossed him a disinterested sound. "Make sure you're back in time to exercise stall four and nine," he grunted, "They need it." He answered without looking at him, instead keeping his eyes on the bright, golden yellow dragon that was in front of him.

"Sure." Joey shrugged, and without a goodbye, swiftly walked out of the barn and began to head across the meadow. When he reached the trees, he didn't bother to turn right and head toward the river. Instead, the adolescent continued to walk on his current path, Ciaran trotting alongside him, unaware of the change in direction.

Together, they walked for the better part of an hour, if not more, until Joey reached a junkyard. At the entrance was a sleeping dog. His dark, beady eyes opened, ear perking up at the noises of foot and claw that approached. Glaring at Joey and the dragon, the canine began to bark furiously at the intruders, lunching at the end of its chain linked lead. Not daring to push his luck, Joey froze in his tracks, but had to move when Ciaran stepped forward.

Her body stiffened and she slammed her tiny tail onto the ground, letting out a small breath of fire in a sort of warning. Had she been bigger, the sight would have sent the dog running. But unfortunately, at her current size, the display just looked pathetic. "Easy there, little fighter," Joey cooed as he picked her up in his arms.

"Joey? Is that really you?" A boy who looked to be about the same age as the Wheeler came jogging up from around a pile of scrap metal, alerted by the barking dog. He had dark brown hair that had been styled in an odd manner, sticking out in front forming a point, while the sides were buzzed short to the skin of his head. His eyes matched the color of his hair, a mid-tone of earthy brown, and he wasn't quite at pale as Joey. He did stand a few inches taller than him, however.

"Tristin!" Joey held Ciaran to his side so he could give his friend a one-armed hug. "Long time no see!"

"No kidding!" the other teen chuckled, before his eyes widened comically as they came to rest on the mass of black scales that squirmed in Joey's grasp. "Whoa, dude is that yours?" he demanded pointing to Ciaran, who was now fiercely struggling to get out of his arms.

"Yup! This here is Ciaran." He set the baby dragon down. Again, she took on the threat of the dog, who was still barking madly.

"Wally, go lay down!" Tristin shouted back to the dog, waving an arm dismissively. It obeyed immediately, going over to a blanket, and laying down, but never taking its eyes off of Joey. The two had never been friends in the first place. Joey knew that if he so much as looked at the dog wrong, he would sink his teeth into Joey's ass without hesitation. Internally, he shuddered at that thought.

Ciaran seemed to be pleased with herself when the dog went to lay down, and she trotted triumphantly back over to Joey with her head held high. "Yes, you were very brave, my little fighter," he praised, laughing fondly.

"So, what brings you here, man? Doesn't your dad have you working at his stables now?" Tristin questioned as he stuffed the gloves he'd been wearing into the back pocket of his jeans.

"Yeah, but now I got this little thing, and I don't think she likes stones," Joey explained, hoping his hunch was heading in the right direction.

"They normally eat those kinds of things, though, don't they?" Tristin wasn't exactly an expert on whole dragon bit, despite them being such a big deal. He'd much rather hang out at home and weld with his dad, which is where Joey had learned the tricks of the welding trade. Had it not been for his father finding out, he probably would have hung around a lot more, too. Tristin's family was nice, and they accepted Joey like a second son.

Joey gave a single-shouldered shrug. "She doesn't seem to like 'em. I was thinking we could try some metals, if it's alright with you? I don' wanna get you in trouble or anythin'."

"Nah, of course not! You know Dad won't mind! Especially when he sees her - he is going to freak out!" Tristin said excitedly as he led Joey through the junkyard, passing broken down cars, cans, and car parts to a few different trash cans. Each was filled to the brim with different scraps of metal, plastics, and tins.

Putting a glove back on, Tristen reached in and pulled out a piece of copper, then tossed it on the ground. Ciaran seemed to show more interest in the metal than the stones from before, but all the same, she eventually shoved her nose up at it.

"Huh…" Tristin turned back to the can to see what he could find.

"Ya' know, normally their scales match their stone..." Joey mused to himself in a whisper, watching as Ciaran curled up in a ball to go to sleep.

"Hey Trist', got anything that's black and shiny? Somethin' like that?" he asked hopefully.

Tristin stopped his search and turned to look at Joey, a thoughtful expression on his face. "You mean something like titanium?" Joey shrugged, unsure of what that was.

"In its purest form, that stuff is ridiculously expensive, but trace amounts are in everything. Rocks and metals, for example, but some have a better concentration of it than others," he explained while rummaging through a different can. "Here." He pulled out a small black bolt that had an odd shine to it. Tossing it over to Joey, he watched as his blonde companion bent down and ran it in front of the sleeping dragon's face.

Much to his surprise, Ciaran's eyes popped open and she sprung up to her feet, hungrily chasing after the bolt in Joey's hand. She even tried snapping at him for it a few times. "Geeze, okay, okay!" He dropped the bolt and removed his hand quickly, watching as she devoured it. "Well, I think we found what she likes." He glanced over his shoulder to Tristan. "What're its properties?" he asked as Ciaran sniffed around in hopes of finding more.

"One of the hardest things on earth, man. They use it in engine blocks, and stuff like that. It's also really lightweight too, so it can be thinned out and used for things like airplanes," he enlightened.

Impressed, Joey's eyebrows raised up towards his hairline as he watched Ciaran.

"So, how much would it be for me to come around and take some off your hands?" he asked hesitantly.

"Are you kidding? Show Dad that thing and he'll hand it to you, I'm sure. We have plenty floating around, anyways," Tristan rambled happily, like it was no big deal (which it really wasn't.)

With an unsure smile, Joey followed as his friend lead them away from the junk piles to a small, single-story house, much like his own. The door was wide open and Tristan stepped inside, kicking off his boots as he went. Past the door was the living room, with a kitchen and dining area to the right. A small hallway was to the left. "Hey, Dad!" His voice rang throughout the quiet house.

"Huh?!" a man's voice came from down the hall, where one of the doors sat open.

"Joey's here!" he shouted back as he went to the fridge to rummage around, tossing Joey a soda and laughing when it almost hit him in the face. "Way to keep a heads up."

About to make a nasty comment of his own, Joey was interrupted by a tall, thin man who had appeared from the open door in the hall. "Joey!" His legs took long strides and he quickly embraced said boy in a tight hug, not minding Ciaran as she paced anxiously at his feet, waiting to be greeted. "You look thin. That bastard father of yours still have his foot up his ass?"

Joey shied at the question, feeling conflicted. Tristin's dad had always hated Matt for the way he treated his kids, but Joey still couldn't help the feeling of pity that overwhelmed him when his father was spoke of in such a harsh manner.

"Oh, what do we have here?" Tristin's father let the subject drop as he scooped up the baby dragon, Ciaran letting out a tiny roar of excitement, her tail trashing wildly, but harmlessly, around in the air. "Joey, is this yours?"

A smile stretching ear to ear, the teen nodded excitedly. "Yeah, she is! Her name is Ciaran. She's actually the reason I came around - Dad doesn't know I'm here," he admitted, albeit a bit sheepishly.

"Oh? What'd you need from us?" He tickled the dragonette's soft underside with a finger, laughing as she squealed and ran up his arm to his shoulder.

"Metal," Tristin cut in to help Joey explain, "She likes titanium, and I told Joey he could stop by whenever and grab some." He knew Joey would never ask for a favor, so he went ahead and did it for him.

"Yeah, sure, sure! Are you staying for dinner?" It was as if Tristin hadn't asked for anything at all. The easygoing manner was so different to Joey, he didn't know how to respond, so he merely settled for shaking his head with a kind smile.

"I gotta' go back to the stables and exercise a few of the dragons." He observed as Ciaran crawled from the man's shoulders, down his body, and to the floor.

With a raised eyebrow he looked from Joey to his dragon. "She's a quick one. Keep an eye on her, Joe." He ruffled Joey's hair and turned to Tristin. "Get him something to eat on the go, would ya', kid?"

"Sure thing, Dad," Tristin responded as his father turned and disappeared back into the room down the hall, not responding when Joey said thank you. It was an old habit of theirs. Whenever Joey said thank you, he would ignore it and act like Joey was invisible. He had told Joey he didn't need to thank him, and to come back if he ever needed anything.

"Here, get yourself some food, I'll be right back." Tristan slid his gloves back on and stepped back outside.

Not needing to be told a second time, Joey went to the fridge and pulled out a handful of carrots, as well as some ham. It wasn't a lot, but he didn't want to impose and take too much. The few times he'd eaten a real meal at a friend's house, he'd left feeling guilty and greedy.

Eating the ham, he tossed a piece of fat down to Ciaran, who snapped it down happily. By the time he was done with his carrots, Tristan had returned, carrying a large burlap bag. "Here." He thrust the bag toward Joey. "This should keep her for a while, just come back when you need more."

Joey took the bag, surprised that the weight. There had to be at least twenty pounds of scrap metal in there! Already, Ciaran was standing on her two hind feet, sniffing the bag suspiciously as Joey and Tristan walked across the room.

"Thanks Tristan, I mean it."

"Ah, it's no biggie. Like Dad said, just stop by soon." They had reached the door and gave each other another one-armed, brotherly hug. "If not, I'll have to come drag you out of the barn myself!"

"Yeah," Joey gave a halfhearted laugh, knowing very well how his father would react if that happened. Matt hated people around his stables when they weren't a part of his staff. "See ya' soon, Trist'."

With one last wave, Joey left the house, the heavy bag slung over a shoulder, Ciaran nipping at his heels, hoping for another tidbit of metal.

* * *

Hold onto your britches ladies and gents, because in the next few chapters things are about to get ugly.


	6. Binds of hate

Heads up, violence ahead.

* * *

"I swear when that boy gets back I'm going to beat some fucking sense into him if it is the last thing I do!" Matt sent an empty water bucket sailing across the barn with one swift kick.

Seto watched quietly from his stall, Addis at his side, as the man continued to through a rather childish fit. Apparently, Joey was due back to the barns several hours ago. And as time ticked by, Seto observed Matt as he became more and more agitated, his anger growing to such a degree it was now bothering the dragons. The creatures shifted and rattled the doors of their pens in a display of their unease.

Matt stormed by Addis's stall, grabbing a leather head-bridal off the wall, and slipping into a pale yellow dragon's stall. Without any consideration he forced it around the beast, one strap connecting to the other side around the back of the head, then again at the start of the jar. In the center, there was a thick metal bar that Matt stuffed into the back of the dragon's mouth.

Snapping its jaw in protest, Matt yanked down on the bridal, tearing the dragon's head down to the side. "Quit it!" he snapped harshly. Taking the reins that hung down from the bridal, he dragged the winged reptile out of the stall by its head. The creature began to dig its razor claws into the floor in protest to its rough handling, which only caused Matt's frustration to rise. Understandably so, the dragon wasn't at all happy with the treatment it was being given.

Growling, Matt reached into his pocket and pulled out his nightstick, extending it with the flick of his wrist. Without fear, he went over to the dragon and promptly smacked it on the heel, hard. A pained roar burst from the dragon's mouth as it jumped up from the floor to avoid being hit again, then tried to bite at Matt's hand, its teeth gnashing together loudly.

The elder tamer had experience on his side and, expecting the attempted assault, used the reins that still rested in his hand to bring the dragon's head back down, smashing his nightstick across the base of its neck and skull. Another thunderous cry echoed in the barn and the dragon moved slower, watching the weapon in Matt's hand closely.

"Walk on!" he shouted tugging at the reins, harsher this time. Biting on the bit the dragon moved forward, following Matt obediently, head hung low in a submissive posture.

All the while, Seto had poked his head out of his stall to watch the ordeal. Addis came over and nudged under his arm, asking to be scratched. Ignoring the request, Seto left his stall and went outside where Matt had tethered the dragon to a very long, heavy metal chain that was hammered into the ground. From the looks of it, Matt had smacked the dragon again on the heel, as its right hind leg was lifted tenderly off the ground, like someone who just sprained their ankle.

"Up!" Matt shouted, pointing into the air, looking at the dragon sternly. A moment passed, and Seto wasn't sure if it would comply. However, slowly, its wings spread, and with a few downwards swooping motions, the dragon took flight. Its momentary freedom ate up the length of the chain quickly. Reaching the end of the line, the dragon did a great circle in the air before Matt signaled for it to come back down, pointing to the ground.

Both back legs took the impact as her large body came back to the ground and her wings tucked against her sides.

"Breath." This time Matt signaled with arms extended, fingers spread wide.

Knowing what to expect, Seto ducked back into the barn just as a burst of flame emitted from the dragon's mouth, passing close to where Seto had been standing. Even inside the barn, the child could feel the broiling heat of dragonfire against his skin.

"Enough!" Matt dropped his hands to his sides, the dragon coming to an abrupt halt. The stream of flame cut out, and the pale yellow female smacked her jaws, as if putting out any remnants of her deadly breath.

Only slightly impressed, Seto quickly grew bored, and went back to where Addis was pawing playfully at the water fixture in the wall. A gently flowing fountain of liquid trickled from the wall and into the floor, allowing the young dragon entertainment as he dipped and splashed his pearl-white paws into the flow. Crossing his arms, Seto rested back against the wall and studied him. Addis could already breathe fire, and he knew well enough to stick to Seto's side like glue... but that was about it. Seto was sure if he asked Addis to even so much as look at him, the dragon would disobediently amble off in some other direction. There was no communication between the two at all.

Addis rubbed his head against the flowing water, snorting and licking up the droplets that fell from his muzzle. Seto rolled his eyes and left the stall, going outside to his car to retrieve his own training stick - one he'd bought months earlier.

The sight he met outside caught him by surprise. Joey had just come back, a sack of metal and his dragon by his side while his father hovered over him, yelling at the top of his lungs.

"What fucking good are you if you don't even work around here?!" he was raging, bellowing with all of his might. A red flush of anger had spread over his face. With another, more attentive look, Seto could see a welt forming on Joey's face. It was a clear indication that Matt had either struck him with a fist, or, at the very least, slapped him. "When I tell you to get back here, I mean get back here, not dick around with your runt of a dragon!" his face was only getting more and more red, and Joey seemed to be losing his cool, too. Seto guessed there was only so much screaming a person could take before they snapped back. "Where the fuck were you?!"

Seto could hear Joey's voice, quiet but shaky. "I went to Tristin's to get some stuff for Ciaran she-" he was cut off by the nightstick in Matt's hand. It collided with his face, shattering his nose and busting his lip open.

Joey's small body fell to the ground on impact, his hands wrapped around his face as he lay curled up in a ball. What Seto saw next surprised even him even more. Ciaran had climbed on top of Joey, and stood on her back feet, her tail swaying in a threatening manner as a small stream of fire leapt from her nose.

"Oh really?" Matt took his nightstick and pressed the button in the center, jabbing the dragon in the chest. The sound of electricity against the dragon's small, scaled body echoed in the meadow. Her cry of pain was even worse, and it made Seto's stomach churn.

Bloody and beaten Joey reacted, grabbing Ciaran off him and tucking her protectively under his body, his arms and legs shielding her.

In a blind rage Matt attempted to pry Ciaran out from under Joey, threatening to kill the dragonette. "What fucking good is an animal that will just end up killing people?!" He grabbed Joey's arm and struggled to move it out of the way.

"Stop!" The words left Seto's mouth before he knew what he was saying. Absentmindedly, he began to cross the space between him, Matt, and Joey. The boy had snatched his arm free and had it curled back around Ciaran. "What the hell do you think you are doing?"

"Stay out of this!" Matt threatened, straightening up from above Joey. "Mind your own fucking business! You may own the stables, but you don't own my family."

"No, but I do own the stables, and that means I technically own all the dragons in it; your dragon, included." Seto spoke with a bravado he certainly did not have. There he stood, a mere ten years old, up against an adult who held a weapon. He was confident enough to bet that the man was mentally unstable, to top it off. "Put another hand on either of them, on my property, and I will evict you, and confiscate everything you own, you pathetic bastard!"

Still laying on the ground, Joey was having a hard time believing his ears. There was Seto, who was saving his ass… again. No doubt, after this was done, he'd go back to throwing insults worse than his father could, but for the moment, the young blonde was grateful. Joey knew without his interference, he would have just lost Ciaran.

Unable to do anything else, Matt dropped his nightstick to the ground, gave Joey a swift kick to the ribs and stalked off to his truck. The door slammed shut and the vehicle peeled off, gravel flying out from under its tires as he drove away.

Groaning, Joey lifted himself to his hands and knees, then off the ground, panicked when he saw blood drip down his numb face and into his hand. Taking his shirt off he held it to his battered face. His attention rapidly turned to Ciaran, who was shaking and curled up into a tight ball. When Joey went to touch her, the baby dragon hissed at him in warning scooted away. She held her pointed tail out in front of her, as if it were going to help protect her.

"Oh, no. No, no, no..." Joey's voice cracked and he dropped his shirt to the ground. "No, I won't hurt you..." He felt like he was pleading with her to understand, but when his hand reached out again it was met by her tail, slapping him away harshly. Although small, it stung. Like he'd been stabbed by a pen.

At that very moment, something in Joey changed. It shifted, and mutated. For starters, he now hated his father, a hatred that sunk deep into his heart and seeped into his soul. The dark binds of loathing wrapped around him and bound him, sucking all the compassion he had held onto hopefully through all the years of abuse. Second, was a silent vow that he was now muttering to himself. He would never allow himself to be hit, teased, called names or bullied again.

This was the last time Joey Wheeler would ever turn the other cheek.

Last was that fucking nightstick.

The sun had now sank below the horizon, and the only source of light came from a bright orange light that hung from the top of the barns' entrances. Feeling around, Joey found the night stick. He gripped it tightly, teeth gritted in fury, before he slammed the handle into the ground. Sparks flew from the shattered end, as Joey kicked it into the night's shadows, hoping to never see it again.

"Joey…" Seto stepped forward to help in some way, but was met and stopped by Joey's glowing eyes.

That calm honey-brown that always seemed full of laughter was replaced with a dull, dark look. He would never admit it, but Seto had never longed for that playful look on Joey's face when they first met; at least not the way he did in that moment. He found himself... missing that childish glow.

Although stubborn, Joey looked like the type of person who just wanted to have a good joke, or play a game. Now, he looked like he just wanted to punch someone.

"Don't fucking come near me," Joey spat, blood spraying off his lips as he spoke. "Stay the hell away from me, and Ciaran." He leaned down, and grabbed the bag that Tristan had given him. Without hesitation, the boy stuck his hand into the bag of scrap metal.

The limb resurfaced, full of shallow cuts. He was holding a handful of bolts, much like the ones he'd given Ciaran earlier. The ones that she had loved so much.

"What are you doing?" Seto asked, his face set in a scowl. He hadn't appreciated the way Joey had spoken to him, but given his current injuries and state of mind, Seto thought it best to hold his tongue for once.

"Something that none of you assholes will bother to learn."

Joey dropped a bolt to the ground, and Ciaran rushed to eat it, but backed away when Joey took a step closer to her.

Seto watched as Joey sighed at her reaction, then proceeded to leave a trail of bolts behind himself as he walked into the barn. Making sure to keep her distance from both humans, the baby dragon followed the trail into the barn, eventually finding her way back into Nai's stall, where she could sleep for the night.

After Matt's full-blown temper tantrum, the young Kaiba decided to put a heavy lock on his stall, not trusting the safety of his dragon to anyone but himself.

On his way back out, he stopped when he saw Joey at a sink, where the water buckets sat empty. The blonde child was gingerly trying to wash the dried blood from his face, doing his best to avoid touching his nose. It was bent in an odd direction, and obviously broken.

Shifting his weight from one foot to the other, Kaiba scoffed at quietly to himself. "Do you want me to call a doctor? I know someone who will set that for you," he offered blandly. Why he was being so generous was a mystery, even to Seto himself, but he was sure it probably had something to do with hanging around Mokuba so much. He made a mental note to cut back on listening to his kid brother so often.

Joey just looked up at the mirror in front of him with cold eyes, seeing Seto standing behind him. Knowing the other could see him in the mirror, he took his fingers and popped his nose back into place, yelling and falling to his knees.

Seto rushed forward to help, but Joey shoved him away, gripping the sink for leverage as he lifted himself back to his feet. "Just go away..." He was now trying to use the washcloth to stop the fresh flow of blood that was pouring from his nose.

Shocked at Joey's masochistic action Seto just stared at him dumbly. "I'm trying to help you," he pointed out with surprising softness in his tone

"Do I look like I need your help?" Joey turned his back to Seto, leaning his elbows against the sink as he pressed the washcloth to his face.

"You sure as hell did outside!" was his irritated response, all patience gone. That was all he got, and when he looked back up into the mirror, Seto was gone.


	7. Anger kills cunning

Hello to my new followers : ) Any chance of a review? I'd love to know how I'm doing, or what I can improve on!

I do not own the song at the end.

Thanks to my beta reader xfallenangel13x for another fantastic job!

* * *

Days slipped by and Joey now found himself sleeping in the barn. Since the episode with his father, he hadn't bothered to go home, and with a few meals from Tristan's house and a fresh pair of clean clothes, he didn't see the need to. Although Matt was an asshole, he'd never once laid his hands on Serenity. Maybe it was because she looked so much like their mother... Joey didn't really know. He just knew she was safe, and he didn't need to be around.

Things were probably better that way, or so he figured. It wasn't good for her to see Joey get thrown around from time to time. That kind of thing could leave a mental scar the size of a football field.

Joey's face had partially healed; his nose wasn't as swollen, but was still inflamed to a slightly-unnatural size. Light purple and yellow rings lined the bottom of his eyes. His lip still had a cut, but it was no longer painful to talk or eat. Overall, Joey was thankful he hadn't lost any teeth in the ordeal. Not having health insurance was a bitch when you had a broken tooth in your mouth.

To make things worse, progress with Ciaran was now painstakingly slow. The baby dragon had taken to hating any person that came near her, with the exception of Joey. She didn't try to bite him, but if he got to close she would hiss and trot away, a clear indication she didn't want to be bothered. After the fight with his father, Joey hadn't been able to get close enough to see if Ciaran was hurt, but in the morning light the next day he saw the ugly, blistering burn on her chest. All that day anger hung around him like a vulture, waiting for any compassion he had left to die so he could rage about the stables, taking it out on whoever came close.

This had led to Joey's current situation, where he held a hand full of bolts and some healing salve the other. Another inspection had Joey suspicious that her burn was becoming infected, and he didn't want to risk losing her after all this to a preventable illness.

Not knowing what else to do, Joey had trapped the small dragon in an empty stall, cornering her to prevent escape. One way or another, he was going to apply to salve. "Okay Ciaran, look here." He jingled the hand full of bolts out in front of him temptingly.

Now, Ciaran may have been young and small, but she wasn't stupid. The tiny dragonette hissed threateningly, showing the rows of her growing teeth to him. "Come on, don' be like that!" he begged, feeling desperation flood his heart.

Behind him, Seto looked through the stall bars, an eyebrow raised in interest. Earlier in the day he had commented on how small Ciaran seemed to be, and Joey had practically bitten his head off. Who knew such a young child could have such colorful language?

Ignoring Seto, Joey put the bolts away in his pocket and set the bowl down, sighing as he popped his knuckles. "Fine, you wanna be that way, I can be that way, too."

Then he lunged for the dragon.

Her lithe body moved quickly out of the way, a terrified squeak leaving her muzzle, abandoning Joey, who scrambled after her. With quick reflexes, Joey grabbed the dragon by the tail, to which she responded by turning and biting him. Teeth sunk into flesh and blood dripped down Joey's hand when she trashed her neck, instinctively trying to cause as much damage as possible.

Joey gritted his teeth, but refused to let the dragon go, instead holding her with her back to his chest. Realizing her attempt to be let go wasn't working, the baby dragon released her master's hand and lashed out with her tail. Had the sharp point at the end developed, it would have been a disaster when she trashed it against his stomach.

Ignoring her fit Joey quickly went over to the bowl he'd placed on the ground, stuck his hand in the salve then spread it over her burn. As quickly as he could he put another thick layer over the wound then dropped Ciaran to the floor. The dragon quickly retreating to the far corner, body slinking low to the ground. Joey cursed under his breath and flicked his injured hand, blood splattering to the floor as he did. Ciaran's ruby eyes never left the boy, watching him just like her mother had the night Joey had stolen from her: untrusting and hurt.

"Ya' know, that was a pretty stupid thing to do, if you want her to like you." A new voice came from the stall door. Joey looked up to see a young man, probably only a year younger than he, standing next to Seto. Despite being around the same age, this boy was clearly vertically challenged, as he only came to Seto and Joey's shoulders. His hair was wild, dyed three different colors that consisted of purple, black, and yellow.

Willing to bet this purple-eyed, pale kid was the only one in the world that would pull off a hairdo like that, Joey stared at him.

"What?" he snapped, unable to help himself, as his throbbing hand and lack of patience was getting to him.

Seto rolled his eyes exasperatedly. "Wheeler, if you are really going to take advice from a Muto, I'm going to have to excuse myself while I go vomit."

The young man ignored Seto altogether, almost as if he were used to his rude, cold personality. "She won't trust you if you snatch her up like that. You could have a lamb leg and she would just run away." His voice was light and kind, and he spoke like he were tutoring a stubborn child. "If you did something to hurt her, then you have to give her a reason to trust you again."

"A reason to trust him? Oh, good God!" Seto threw his hands up and began to walk away. "A hippie and a boy who can't even fish properly. Someone kill me now. This place really has gone to the dogs."

"Whatever," the boy's amethyst eyes rolled lazily as he slid the stall door open. "Ignore him. Here, give me something she likes and I'll show you." He squatted down and held his hand out, which Joey proceeded to fill with the dark, titanium bolts.

"Huh, she likes metal? Weird." The comment was made with a smile as this strange boy sat down, and looked pointedly away from Ciaran. He then tossed a bolt gently to the floor, away from himself.

Not haven eaten lunch yet, she snatched it up off the floor, looking curiously at the new stranger.

The process was repeated a few times, and each time Ciaran inched closer and closer to the boy, until she eventually took a bolt out of his hand, snatching it up quickly then running back to her corner. "There, see! She will come along," he said brightly, standing up only after she had retreated.

"See what? She didn't even let you touch her!" Joey retorted with a sigh, feeling defeated.

"That may be so, but she did come up to me, didn't she? You couldn't even get her to do that just a few minutes ago!" He paused before adding, "I'm Yugi, by the way." The newly-introduced 'Yugi' held his small hand out to Joey. Looking at the boy, Joey took his hand and shook it.

"How do you know about dragons?" he questioned, knowing he hadn't seen Yugi before. But he had the reminiscent feeling that he looked familiar.

"My grandpa owned a set of barns, before Kaiba bought it. He taught me everything you need to know," Yugi elaborated with a smile that could light up a room.

Joey bit his injured lip softly. "I'm Joey. Do ya' think you could show me... how you did that? I hold them out to her, but she doesn't care."

"Sure!" Yugi's friendly personality was throwing Joey off a bit, but he still wanted to listen. If he knew some way to get Ciaran out of her funk, then Joey wanted to know about it. "First, don't look at her. It's scary."

Joey had to interrupt right there. "Scary? How am I scary to her? She's the one with teeth!"

Yugi shrugged impatiently. "So? Whoever gave her that burn clearly had something worse than teeth." Joey promptly shut up at this and listened silently, allowing Yugi to continue. "Get down on her level too, let her know you are trying to talk with her, not just make her do something." Yugi squatted back, looking in the opposite direction with his hand held out, before continuing quietly.

"Don't try and grab her, it will only scare her. Let her come to you then leave when she wants. If you force her around you, then she'll just think you're a jerk," he explained as Ciaran slowly crept closer.

Her body was low to the ground and she stretched her neck out as far as she could, sniffing his hand in the hopes of finding more metal. When she didn't, she quickly retreated back into her corner. "See?" Yugi stood back up and looked to Joey.

Frowning, Joey tried to follow his lead and took some more titanium scrap from his pocket. He got on his knees and looked away from the dragon, then tossed a few bits out to her. He held his hand out, palm opened widely, fingers pressed together. Ciaran came up and took one, eating it. Her little, white-needle teeth made a peculiar noise as they chewed up the metal pieces, as she had stood around long enough to take another before leaving.

It wasn't anything monumental, but it gave Joey a bit of hope that she wasn't stuck like this forever. "That time she even stayed longer!" Yugi said enthusiastically, "Work with her some more, and she will trust you again soon." Again, the pale boy paused. He looked thoughtful, but almost scornfully so. 'Almost', because the word 'scornful' just didn't seem to match anything in the child's disposition. "What'd you do, anyways?"

"I didn't." Joey's voice had turned cold and hard. "My dad zapped her with one of those damn sticks."

Yugi winced at the explanation, hissing in a sharp breath. "Ouch! I hate those damn things."

"Huh?" Joey could hardly believe it when he heard the words leave Yugi's mouth. It was the first time anyone who worked with dragons had said that to him. Ever.

"I hate them." Yugi soft features tensed up, almost making him look mad. "They aren't just a bunch of big, dumb animals, you know. People just treat them like they are. They're actually very intelligent."

Joey swallowed, trying to stammer out an answer. "S-so wait, yer tellin' me you know how to work with them without that stuff?" The youngster felt weak in the knees, forgetting completely about his injured hand, which still had a small drip of blood running from his fingertips.

"Well, yeah, I guess. It's a lot to learn, though. More or less, you have to learn to talk to them. Sometimes –" Yugi was cut off by Joey, who enthusiastically embraced him, squeezing his skinny frame gratefully.

"Please teach me!" he begged, knowing that Yugi didn't realize just how much this meant to him. He felt his heart soar, hope filling him. It was almost overwhelming!

"Are you... crying?" Yugi's hands were stiff by his sides as he tried to look at Joey, whose voice did, in fact, tremble, making him sound as if he were crying.

"No! No, I'm not," was the quick answer. But when Joey pulled back, his nose was red and he had the beginnings of tears in his eyes. "Please, I'll do anything! Really. Just... teach me. Please!"

Unsure of what the big deal was, Yugi agreed. All his life his grandfather had taught him about reading body signals, using food as rewards, and just generally communicating with dragons. It wasn't anything special to him, so why Joey was practically groveling at his feet was nothing short of concerning. "You have to get her to trust you first, though."

"Sure, sure! I can do that," Joey promised, ignoring Seto, who was watching the whole scene unfold from Addis' stall.

"Everyone knows that crap doesn't work, Muto!" Seto snorted, unable to help but to put in his two bits.

Frowning, Yugi turned to look at him. "Yes, it does; Grandpa's been doing it for years," he defended indignantly.

Seto let out a small laugh. "He's been thrown out of every fighting ring he's entered, too! None of his dragons have even made it a finals ring, and you're in here spouting off crap like you know any better? Get real."

"Do you always have to be such a snarky jerk?" Joey growled, his bad mood from earlier coming back full force. "How about you go feed your little snake some more jewelry, and we'll let our dragons do the talking when the time comes!"

"Ha!" Seto legitimately laughed in his face. "Wheeler, never in your lifespan, will one of your dragons even come close to beating a White Dragon. That's a joke, just like you."

Before things could escalate any further, Yugi took Joey by the arm and began to drag him away from Seto. "Come on, just ignore him. He has always been like this."

Joey shrugged Yugi off his arm and left the barn with him. "I don't get why he is such a jerk all the time!" Joey shouted in frustration, pulling at his own hair once they had gotten outside. "It's like anything that comes out of his mouth has to be insulting, otherwise he just won't say it!"

Yugi gave a quietly, almost saddened hum. "If your dad stuck you out in the middle of nowhere, away from your family, with nothing but a dragon, wouldn't you be a jerk too?" Yugi said, sounding sympathetic.

That bit of information caught Joey off-guard. "I thought he went home every night?"

Yugi shook his head in response. "Nope, his dad is renting a small house down the street from mine, and he goes there every night. I guess his brother and his dad stay in their permanent home, someplace else."

The thought of Seto having any type of hardship in life sent Joey's brain reeling. "Wow... Here I was, thinkin' rich-boy over there had things perfect."

"Psh," the smaller scoffed, almost bitterly, "Nothing is perfect Joey. But, look, I've gotta go." A car was driving up the long gravel road towards the barn. "I'll catch you later; in the meantime, try singing to her, too! They love that!" he shouted back as he met the car when it came to a stop, and hopped in.

"Singing?" Joey stood there, looking stupid and rather lost as he tried to understand the suggestion. What the hell was he supposed to sing to her, Justin Beiber?! Not only that - if Seto caught him singing, it would be the death of him, he was sure.

Grumbling to himself, he mulled over what a bad idea that was as he went back into the stable, needing to finish cleaning out a stall. Before he grabbed a rake, he tied his hand up in a piece of scrapped cloth, and went to work.

After he was done, he went back to the lone stall Ciaran was in before, and sat down, taking a much-needed break from the day. He was surprised when Ciaran poked her head around the stall door and trotted in. Joey took the opportunity to shut the door, quickly but carefully, to prevent her from escaping, and took Yugi's advice, looking away from her immediately.

Rather than scratch at the walls and bite at the doors like she had done previously, Ciaran stuck to pacing around nervously, eyes stuck to Joey. A few minutes later, she had settled down as far away from him as possible, her tail twitching uneasily. Joey glanced at her and she looked away to the wall her back was settled against.

* * *

Hours later, they seemed to have come to some weird... understanding of each other. Joey didn't move, and Ciaran didn't bite him. It was as simple as that. This 'understanding' had left Joey with a numb ass, hungry, and slightly aggravated. The only thing left for him to do was pull his shirt off and use it as a pillow, trying to go to sleep.

Stuck in the horrible phase of being half-awake and half-asleep, Joey's mind began to think, his memory waking up as his mind started to rest.

Yugi had said to sing. Hadn't his mother said the same thing to him once, as well? Laying there, Joey stretched his mind back as far as it could go, trying to remember one of the times when his mother would sing him to sleep.

"You know, Joey," she had said, her voice so soft and kind - he could hear her as if she were there, beside him. "Dragons love to sing too. It is the way to their heart."

Then he could hear the old lullaby as she sung.

Listen, my hatchling, for now you shall hear,  
Of the only seven slayers a dragon must fear  
First beware Pride, lest belief in one's might,  
Has you discount the foeman who is braving your sight  
Never Envy other dragons their wealth, power, or home,  
For dark plots and plans will bring death to your own  
Your Wrath shouldn't win, when spears strike your scale,  
Anger kills cunning, which you will need to prevail  
A dragon must rest, but Sloth should you dread,  
Else long years of napping let assassins to your bed  
'Greed is good,' or so foolish dragons will say,  
Until piles of treasure bring killing thieves where they lay  
Hungry is your body, and at times you must feed,  
But Gluttony makes fat dragons who can't fly at their need  
A Lust for glory, gems, gold, or mates,  
Leads reckless young drakes to the blackest of fates  
So take heed of this wisdom, precious hatchling of mine,  
And the long years of dragonhood are sure to be thine...

The last words came out quiet, almost in a whisper as Joey sung himself to sleep. Had he not been so laden with sleep, he may have noticed the way Ciaran's tail had thumped rhythmically with his song, or how she turned her eyes on him, ruby eyes watching with a soft, respectful expression on her scaled face.


	8. Friendly Hatred

A big thank you to my beta reader, xfallenangel13x who got this chapter done in record time.

Sandra: Like how I got a beta, par your request. What'd you think, she does a great job, yeah? Thanks for your fantastic review.

FallenAngel: Of course, I owe you a huge thank you.

Iwini:Thanks! I am going to be exploring this side of Seto more, he is a classy business man, that doesn't mean he knows anything about being social.

Dancing Elf: Thank ya' very much : )

Smells like Mary: I love your user name, and kudos to you for picking up on this chapter, I hope your enjoy it.

Bears of the West: Your wish is my command.

* * *

Snow crunched loudly under a pair of large boots, moonlight casting a beautiful shade of blue over the silent meadow beneath. The calm of the silence helped settle Joey, who was grumpily trudging back to the barns, empty-handed. Much to his dismay, the streams and rivers had frozen over, locking away a very precious resource - also known as fish.

This was the third night Ciaran would have to go without food, a fact that made Joey's stomach clench with guilt. Sliding the entrance door open to the barn, Joey thought momentarily about letting her go. It was a thought that had crossed his mind often in the years that had passed. She would be able to fly freely, hunt openly, and be happy.

One dreary night, full of dark thoughts and after a night of drinking with Tristan, he had even given it a try, only feeling worse when the drake wouldn't leave his side. Rather than fly off into a promising mountain range, she had stood by his side, nuzzling him in reassurance. Her loyalty would be her death, the young tamer was sure.

Kicking off the old, tattered boots he had found Joey made his way to Ciaran, stepping into her open stall. "I got nothin'," he admitted, hands empty in front of him, eyes cast guiltily at the floor. All the insults his father spouted at him, about not being able to care for a dragon, or tame a dragon flooded his head. His arms dropped to his sides.

Rather than dismiss the sulking teenager, Ciaran stood, her body now filling half of the stall, her long wings tucked gracefully to her sides. Mindful of her two horns, the dragon pressed her head to Joey's chest, knocking the wind from him as she tried to comfort her master.

Inhaling deeply, Joey lifted his hands to scratch her behind the horns, something she had enjoyed since she was just a hatchling. "Maybe we should drop by Tristan's, eh?" he mused out loud.

Hooking a hand around one of her horns, Joey led Ciaran from the stall and out of the stable, slipping on his shoes before they left. A cold wisp of wind wrapped around Joey, causing him to shiver. Seeing this, Ciaran let out a long breath of hot air, warming him immediately. Joey smiled at her in appreciation, the process being repeated as they made the walk to Tristan's house.

Regretfully, they weren't greeted by Wally, but instead by a new dog, one who didn't serve his purpose as a junkyard dog. In his place lay a pit bull, one with a light pink nose and a beautiful coat of brown, boasting a beautiful white chest. She perked her ears up and stood, wagging her tail at the duo.

"Hey, Boo," he greeted her, giving her a pat as he passed by. She wined and followed next to Joey, ignoring Ciaran as she towered over the canine. Much unlike Wally, Boo's soul purpose in life was to be the center of attention, and she desperately sought to fulfill that purpose every time Joey came over.

As they passed by a pile of metal, Ciaran made to pull away from Joey, but he held tightly onto her horn. "Hey, now," he scolded gently, "You know better; you have to ask first."

The dragon whined softly at the correction, but ambled along as they approached Tristan's house. Kicking the snow off his boots against the concrete porch, Joey stepped up to the door and gave it a solid knock, stepping back and waiting. The lock clicked open from behind the door, and Tristan's mother stood on the other side of the screen.

"Joey!" she exclaimed, her face turning from excited to concerned quickly. "Why on earth don't you have a jacket?! My god, get in here!" She reached out and softly took his arm, pulling him into the warmth of the house.

"Don't you move," the teen warned his drake from over his shoulder, whose red eyes were watching the scene unfold. She tucked her wings closely to her body and lay down, curling her tail closely around her body, although her eyes shifted over to trash can hungrily. Joey shot her a warning look before the door was closed behind him, cutting him from view.

"Jack, Tristan, Joey is here!" the woman's voice rang through the house.

It was Tristan who came from his room first. "Joey! Dude, you were supposed to come back months ago!" His brown hair was messed up, and he only wore a pair of sweat pants. Joey would have bet he'd been sleeping. They embraced in a quick hug, Joey's cold arms stinging against Tristan's warm skin. A moment of jealousy rushed over Joey, one that he quickly pushed away.

Jack, Tristan's father, showed up next, and before he had a chance to say hello, the Misses had dragged him off into another room, whispering to him along the way.

Tristan rolled his eyes and looked back at Joey. "It's late, is everything okay?"

Realizing he'd been standing there like an idiot, Joey scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, yeah... The rivers are frozen over, and I can't catch anything for Ciaran. Do you think…? " He trailed off, not able to bring himself to ask for help.

Since that fight with his father, more had followed, each becoming increasingly violent. Joey was older now, and able to hold his ground. For some odd reason this had led to Joey becoming a "no good piece of shit, who thought everything should be given to him". Only last week, they had gotten into a scrap because Joey had, apparently, looked at him the wrong way. Who knew glancing was a crime?

Their broken relationship left Joey with close to nothing, and Tristan's family had been constantly helping him, giving him clothes, food, and occasionally money. It was their generosity that had kept him away the past six months; he felt like he was somehow taking advantage of them.

"We were wondering when you'd come back around. Hang on, I'll go throw some clothes on." Tristen said, not needing more of an explanation. He turned and left to get changed, Joey standing alone in the living room.

While he was waiting, Jack came back into the room, fully dressed, carrying an extra jacket. "Here, put this on before you freeze to death." He shoved the article of clothing towards Joey, forcing it into his hands.

Joey slipped the jacket on and zipped it up, following after Jack as they left the house. Ciaran was laying where Joey had left her, earning praise from the teenager that caused her tail to thump pleasantly.

"She's huge!" Jack said, surprised when the dragon stood, standing a good five feet taller than Joey.

"And hungry," Joey laughed, finding it amusing himself. He thought she would had grown like a weed, but in fact, dragons matured slowly. Ciaran had just reached her adult height, and even now he wasn't so certain her wings were done growing.

"I'm sure." Jack gave her massive chest a small pat in appreciation. "Well, if you think she can find something that will appease her, then have at it."

"You sure?" Joey asked hesitantly, knowing just how much Ciaran could eat.

Jack nodded and Joey gave Ciaran a release word, allowing her to do what she wanted. Both men watched in awe as the dragon hopped up, spread her great wings and took flight, hovering over a large pile of junk cars she had been eyeing.

With her claws she gripped onto the roof of a car, and thrust her powerful wings. The car tore away from the pile, and she dropped it back to the ground, the vehicle crashing against the earth. Unfazed by the loud noise, Ciaran promptly came down from the sky, on top of the car, and destroyed the hood with her powerful jaws. Her head sank down low, and she ripped the engine clear out of the car. With the large block hanging from her mouth she laid back down and began to devour her meal.

"Well, then..." Jack said dimly, at a loss for further words.

"Heh... Uh, sorry about that," Joey said sheepishly. "She likes the pistons."

Jack shrugged it off. "Don't worry about it." He turned to look at Joey, his face more serious. "Joey, listen. Sarah and I are worried about you. Are you sure you're doing alright?" His eyes looked over the boy, who looked thoroughly over-worked and under-fed. His body was toned from the work of heavy lifting, but his face wasn't as full and healthy as he had once seen it.

"I'm fine," Joey fibbed, thinking about the few pairs of clothes he had and the old blanket he was sleeping with in Ciaran's stall. Not to mention to extreme lack of food. "I jus' wanna make sure Ciaran is taken care of."

Jack's walnut-colored eyes looked critically at Joey. "You're a horrible liar."

Joey gave a one-shouldered shrug. "I know." It was a fact, not an accusation.

"Look, let's get you fixed up - Sarah is making you some soup. We can talk about what has been going on." Jack's large hand gripped Joey's shoulder reassuringly as they walked together back into the house.

The food tasted great, and of course Joey found himself comfortable and warm. It didn't make him want to talk about things though. Things like how Seto now owned the stables, about how he believed his father hated him, or how he never got to see his sister. How he worried that Ciaran would never be a good fighter, and about the fear he had of losing her. So he didn't. He simply insisted things were better than what they were.

No-one at the table believed him, but they didn't pressure him, either. They said their goodbyes with hugs and made sure Joey had some food to leave with, a warm jacket, and a pair of boots that fit. He was especially grateful for the gloves that Sarah had passed to him before he went out the door with Tristan, stepping out into the cold winter night.

"Holy shit!" the brunette yelled when he closed the door behind them, his hands flying to his hair in astonishment at the sight in front of them. "Dude, she ate our cars!"

Indeed, Ciaran had been busy, having consumed a good amount of engines - at least eight by Joey's count. "Well…" Joey tried to think of a silver lining to the situation. "At least they were all broken."

Rolling his eyes, Tristan gave Joey a shove before stepping off of the porch. "Show me what she knows," he insisted, watching as Ciaran ate another piston from a torn-up engine block.

"What she knows?" Joey asked, confused.

"Yeah, you are training her for the pits, right?" Tristan asked as Boo came up, leaning against his leg, begging for attention.

"Oh… right." Joey realized what he was meaning and called Ciaran over, the dragon willingly leaving her meal behind. She trotted over to him quickly and stood facing him, attentive as ever.

"Ciaran, up!" He lifted a hand in the air, and the dragon shoved her front legs off the ground, coming to sit back on her hind legs.

"Raise!" His hand went even higher, and the dragon stood up on her back legs, her thighs shaking with effort.

"Drop!" He let his hand fall, close to the ground, and the dragon followed with it.

"Tail!" The blonde whipped his hand out to the side, and Ciaran shifted her weight, lashing out with her solid, sharp-tipped tail.

"Breath!" Joey brought his fingertips together, then opened them, the dragon inhaling deeply then exhaling a wave of fire that lit up the night sky.

"Enough." His fingers closed back together and the stream of fire ceased.

"And a' course, she knows how ta' bite, too." Joey added, snapping his fingers. Ciaran responded by snapping her jaw shut, a gnashing sound echoing loudly as her teeth clashed together.

Tristan stood, looking impressed, his eyebrows raised and his eyes staring openly at the creature, captivated by the show. "Not bad. At all, really."

Joey couldn't help but feel proud at that moment, despite their hardships. "Yeah, she is a good girl. Hey, tell ya' parents thanks for me, okay? I appreciate it."

"Psh, don't sweat it! If anything, that big lizard of yours can come around in the summer and melt some metal for us," Tristen said as he bent down and rubbed Boo's ears.

"I don't think she'd mind." Joey smiled and looked back to Ciaran, who was attempting to sneak another piston.

Laughing to himself Joey let her snatch it then took her gently by the horn, leading her out of the junkyard. He waved back to Tristan over his shoulder, who then went back into the house with his dog.

Together the two walked back to the stables, Ciaran enjoying a game of snowball-fetch along the way. Joey looked down the driveway from afar as he watched a black SUV leave the barn, a trail of dust billowing behind as it sped down the gravel road. Eyebrows furrowed in curiosity, Joey went to put Ciaran up for the night, but was stopped in his tracks upon entering her stall. In the center sat a large pile of fish, and while the smell was horrible, Ciaran let out an excited roar, shoving Joey aside to eat her fill.

"What the…?" Joey looked around for the source of the supplier but found himself alone, confused, but extremely grateful.

* * *

The next morning rushed by quickly, Joey didn't waste time in cleaning pens, feeding, or watering. At this point the basic chores of the morning were child's play, and he only slowed down when it came time to bathe the dragons; a task he found more relaxing than anything.

Leaving out of a side door, Joey stepped into the cold and tip-toed, bare footed, into another stable, dancing on the warm concrete as he did so. His toes were stinging from the abuse of the icy snow that covered the ground outside, punishing him for making the trip without shoes.

Unlike the other barn, this one had few stalls, and the temperature inside was hotter. In each stall was a low-set bath, large enough to comfortably fit even the largest of dragons. They were separated by bars, allowing someone to keep an eye on the reptiles, but stay safe in the event of an outburst.

Joey swung one of the large, barred doors open and walked around the edge of the tub, banging his fist against the wooden wall. One of the wooden panels shook loose and fell forward, bringing a metal pipe with it that hovered over the tub. Walking back out, he repeated the process with the other three rooms, then stepped back into the wide corridor, pressing buttons on a pad that was located at the front of the bathhouse.

Simultaneously, steaming water began to flow from each of the pipes, filling the baths slowly. Experience told Joey he had plenty of time to go back to the breeding barn and ready a few dragons. When Seto insisted the bathhouse be built Joey rebutted, insisting it was a stupid idea. They rolled around in hay - and occasionally dirt - all day! What did a dragon care if they were dirty or not?

But, much to his chagrin, Joey had been proven wrong once he'd been ordered to give the dragons their first bath. Even the fiercest of the giants had fallen apart and resorted to hatchling-like behavior: squeaking, rolling around, and batting their tails against the water. They loved having their scales scrubbed, and when polished and primed, Joey couldn't help but notice their change in disposition, seeming calmer and more content.

It was for this reason Joey pulled the most difficult dragons first; it calmed them down and left Joey with less work later.

As the tubs filled, Joey went and pushed another button and a large metal door withdrew into the ceiling at the front of the bathhouse, leaving a large entrance for the dragons. Quickly Joey skipped across the snow and back into the breeding barn.

Recalling the best pairings in his head, Joey shoved open the doors to stalls two, four, eight, and eleven. The three females and the one male looked curiously out of the stalls, then followed Joey's direction as he led the male out of the barn and into the bathhouse.

"Move along, Addis," Joey said, not bothering with a harness. Yugi had taught him long ago how uncomfortable those could be; the cold bit against their teeth, the pressure against the backs of their heads, all of which resulted in Joey's refusal to use them again. it humored Joey that the only ones to complain were the owners of the dragons, who had quickly shut up when Joey led the animals easily by their horns.

Addis didn't need to be told twice as he was directed to the bathhouse. Once the large, white dragon realized where they were headed, he trotted ahead of Joey and plunged into one of the full tubs, sending a wave of water rushing over the sides and onto the floor.

Accustomed to this, Joey just closed the door behind Addis, making sure the other three didn't fight over a bath. Once everyone was resting comfortably in the water, Joey turned off the flow of water, closed the bathhouse doors, and began the process of scrubbing each reptile. The females had settled quickly, but once Joey had gone into Addis's bath, the dragon stopped its child-like swimming and stared at Joey.

"Easy, Addis," Joey tried to sooth him, holding up a wire scrub-brush to show he meant no harm.

The dragon let out a low rumble in warning, the water vibrating around him from the deep, loud noise. Addis had loved grooming, but a few months back, a stall boy had harshly groomed him, taking the wire brush to the soft scales on the underside of the dragon. The treatment had resulted in scraping wounds along Addis's stomach, and the boy was now missing three fingers, and a job.

Since then, Addis had refused to let anyone near him with a brush, even Seto. It had taken both Yugi and working with the dragon to decrease his hyper aggression, and the low rumble he was emitting now was a far cry from the thrashing he'd tried just a week ago.

Slowly Joey inched closer, eyes looking pointedly away as he approached. Addis snapped his teeth anxiously and shifted in the now-murky, steaming water.

"Gently…. gently…" Joey whispered to himself, and with a shaky hand, touched Addis's long, scaled neck with the brush, relieved when the creature didn't lash out.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Joey began to move the wire brush in small, gentle circles, careful to stay away fron the softer scales of his inner neck and belly.

"See? S'not so bad." He didn't know if he was encouraging himself or the dragon, but either way Addis began to thrum and sway, eyes closing softly, clearly enjoying the treatment.

Joey dipped the brush into the water, the dirt dispersing into the water, then put it back to Addis, unaware that Seto had now entered the bath house. Joey began to sing a silly song, one about a dragon who ate too many gems and turned to stone as he scrubbed the great beast.

"You know Wheeler, you could get a job at the local bar, I'm almost sure of it," Seto sneered.

Startled, Joey jumped and the brush slid from his hands and dropped into the murky water. Addis stirred, and unfortunately for Joey his soft-scaled paw had landed directly on the wire brush. Instantaneously the dragon screamed, trashing about wildly. Joey ducked quickly to avoid his tail, then pushed himself back through the bars, narrowly avoiding his trashing wings.

A stream of fire engulfed the bathhouse, setting fire to the roof. Knowing there was little hope of calming the raging dragon Joey did the only thing he knew to do, and quickly set to letting the three females out, worried the fire may spread. It was true that dragons couldn't die by fire, but the resulting smoke could kill.

While Joey was leading them out of the burning bathhouse, Seto and opened the door and dove into the bath with Addis, leaving his black trench coat on the floor.

"Addis, settle!" he yelled, trying to grab a hold of the dragon's trashing head, knowing if he could just get a firm grasp on Addis he would calm down.

Deaf to his master's pleas, Addis stood on both back legs and roared again, no longer in pain, but wild with anger. His law claw slammed down into the water close to Seto, but still he persisted. +

"Seto, come on!" Joey was back, only this time he was pulling Seto out of the bath rather than a dragon. "Just let him go, there's nothing you can do!"

"Wheeler, get off!" he shouted back, trying to shove the blonde off him. As fate would have it, the blonde, doing nothing but heavy lifting, could easily fight off the brunette's feeble attempts to get back to his dragon.

The roof began to burn faster, as the steam had now left the bath house, and a piece of charred rafter came crashing to the floor beside the tussling teens. Knowing there wasn't much time to spare, Joey did something he never, in his wildest dreams, thought he would ever do: he picked Seto up, bridal style, and ran out of the bathhouse, leaving Addis behind.

Behind them, the white beast was biting at the bars to the door, close to tearing it down. Once outside, Joey lost his footing, unbalanced from Seto's extra weight, and sent both of them sprawling out onto the snow. Back inside the bath house Addis could be heard ripping down the door to his enclosure, but that didn't stop Seto from quickly attempting to regain his footing.

"Seto, don't!" Joey shrieked, lunging forward from the ground, tripping the boy.

Knowing nothing else would work, Seto aimed a kick at Joey, missed, and yelled again when Joey pinned him to the ground face-first in the snow. "Joey, I swear to God I'll sell your fucking dragon to a meat house!" he threatened.

"You can't go back in there!" he yelled back louder, making sure to keep Seto's hands firmly gripped behind his back. In the back of Joey's mind he knew if Seto got loose he'd beat him worse than his father ever could.

As Joey finished speaking, as if on cue, the roof caved in, exploding in a mass of ember and smoke. From the hole Addis emerged, letting out a stream of triumphant fire as he took flight, leaving Seto to watch hopelessly from the ground.

Knowing there wasn't a chance in hell of getting him back now, Seto let his face drop into the snow, and finally Joey let go of his hands, backing away quickly in fear of retaliation. In the distance sirens could be heard, and Joey saw Yugi's grandfather pulling into the driveway with haste.

"Wheeler... Have I ever told you how much I hate you?" grumbled the brunette, with hos face still lodged in the white snow.

* * *

Thus begins the start of something special between our two tamers. Hope you enjoyed. : )


	9. Stuck Together

The days that followed were long, miserable, and tedious. Construction had begun on a new bath house; the hammering, sawing, talking, and beeping of work trucks sent the dragons in to constant fits of rage. They were irritable, exhausted, uncomfortable, and for Joey, a complete nightmare.

Seto was at the heart of the disruptions, insisting Joey care for each dragon from morning until night. Many of the other stall hands had been laid off, or moved to another stable - a direct punishment for Addis's escape, Joey was sure. The young blonde felt horrible about the situation, but couldn't help his rage that seeped through anytime the brunette came walking through the barn. It wasn't like he had let the dragon go on purpose!

"Stinkin' Kaiba…" Joey muttered furiously to himself as he shoved a pile of dirty hay into a wheelbarrow, "Safe his life… Save his dragons… End up shovelin' shit!" He practically yelled the last word as he slammed the rake down.

Beside him, a jade colored dragon bellowed smoke in displeasure, Joey coughing at the intrusion as he evacuated the stall, knowing he was about to get himself into trouble with the reptile. As he backed into the hall he bumped into something, or someone, rather, as he was not paying attention to his surroundings as he swatted the smoke away from his face.

Stumbling around to avoid the collision, Joey realized it was Yugi, one of the few people who had stuck around to help him after the incident. "Sorry, Yug'," he apologized.

"Don't worry about it, Joey. I'll take care of Murku's stall. You take a break," he offered happily, knowing how thinly-stretched Joey had been lately. Even Ciaran was keeping her distance!

"You sure?" Joey asked, feeling guilty about leaving his work half-finished, although he still yearned for a bit of down-time.

Yugi merely shooed him away with an uninterested wave. "Don't worry about it."

"...Thanks," Joey eventually sighed in relief, sliding a pack out cigarettes out of his back pocket. Yugi's nose scrunched up in distaste.

"I thought you quit?" his friend questioned unpleasantly. While Yugi wasn't the type to judge someone for their habits, he really did hate when Joey came back from his smoke breaks smelling like an ashtray.

Joey shrugged as he popped an unlit Newport into his mouth, the long cancer stick hanging between the corner of his lips. "What can I say? I've never been a quitter." He threw Yugi a friendly wink, the shorter teen rolling his eyes in response, before turning and heading outside, lighter in hand.

Putting his back against the side of the barn, Joey cupped a hand around his cigarette to shield the lighter's flame from the wind, lit up his smoke and inhaled. He exhaled with a sigh a few seconds later, beginning to unwind a little. Trying to take a moment to relax, Joey closed his honey colored eyes and flicked his cigarette, more out of habit than anything. If he had been paying more attention he might have realized Seto had just walked up, taking a break from barking orders at the poor construction workers.

"Wheeler, you're supposed to be cleaning my barn." His tone was sharp and cold, right back to how it was when they'd first met.

Opening one eye lazily Joey exhaled a large cloud of smoke, giving himself a moment to settle his already aggravated nerves. "I'm taking a break…"

"I didn't say it was your lunch break!" Seto snapped back quickly.

Joey's free hand clenched absentmindedly in frustration. "Does it look like I'm eating?"

There was a miniscule pause. "Fine." Joey was seemed surprised when he let the subject drop so quickly, his eyebrows raising in a questioning look.

For a moment, neither of them spoke, Joey taking another, long drag from his cigarette, trying to ignore the uncomfortable silence.

"You're going with me to find Addis." Seto shattered the silence like a stone thrown through a window.

Going to find Addis?! What the hell? Joey just starred at his rival, a stupid expression on his face. "Huh?"

"I am going to find Addis, and since you are responsible for this mess, you're going with me," Seto repeated, his tone of voice more sure-footed then before.

"Like hell! I'm staying here, you go on your own damn-!"

Seto cut into his verbal assault, putting a hand out to silence him quickly. "I already hired people to look after the barn, and unless you want to find yourself out of a job and without a place to live, then you are going with me. Get over it, we're leaving now."

The fact that Seto brought up Joey's living arrangements stopped him from shooting off another nasty remark. At night, when he couldn't sleep, Joey would wonder if Seto knew about him living in Ciaran's stall. His father didn't pay room and board for the black dragon, but Seto never once bothered to kick him out, or hassle him for money he didn't have. Before Joey just assumed Seto was ignorant about it, but now he knew the truth.

"Fine," he spat, flicking his cigarette to the ground and stepping on it, crushing it into the gravel before spinning on his heel to head back inside.

Once inside he wasted no time in gathering, then throwing the few possessions he had in a backpack Tristan had given him. An extra pair of socks, underwear, two shirts, a sweater and a pocket knife. It wasn't a lot, but it was something.

"What's up?" Yugi asked, peeking into the stall where Joey was zipping up his backpack. Fresh hay now covered the ground, and Ciaran sat happily eating a pile of scrap metal.

"Kaiba is making me go on a stupid trip. Thinks he will find Addis or some shit," Joey muttered, not looking at Yugi or Ciaran. Even though he loved and trusted Yugi like a brother, he wasn't happy about having to leave his dragon alone. The thought of not having her by his side made his stomach churn uneasily. As she had grown, Joey knew her protection was always something he could rely on.

Yugi laced his arms together and leaned against the doorway. "Yeah. We figured he probably headed toward the mountains."

Joey dropped his bag on the floor are stared at Yugi, his eyes wide in disbelief and his jaw was practically hanging on the ground. "You knew 'bout this?!"

A guilty blush crept onto the young boy's face, and his looked down uncertainly. "Well... Yeah… I mean, my grandpa and I agreed to watch over things while you were gone and stuff…" Yugi finished lamely, bracing himself for the outburst he knew was quickly headed his way, courtesy of his irritable friend.

"Unreal! You knew about this asshole's plans and didn't tell me?!" Joey was now red in the face, his voice echoing down the hall. Although Yugi hadn't intentionally done it, Joey felt betrayed, which led to hurt, and inevitably to pain.

"Joey, it won't be that bad!" Yugi tried to reason with his hot-headed friend, who had snatched his bag up off the floor and was now trying storm past him into the hallway.

Knowing better than to block his path, Yugi quickly stepped aside, but followed in close pursuit. "I'm serious, Joey! Seto is going to need some help, and we all know how good you are with dragons... even if he won't admit it."

"Save it, Yug'," Joey said harshly, stepping into the cold afternoon air outside. "Just make sure Ciaran is taken care of."

Defeated, Yugi stood back and watched as Joey went and leaned against Seto's car, backpack slung over his shoulder. It didn't take long for the brunette to join Joey and slide into the driver's side of the car, the engine of the red Tesla S purring to life.

Not sparing Yugi a second glance, Joey opened the car door, sank down into the black leather seat, and slammed the door shut. Still in a foul mood, he shoved his backpack onto the floor board and crossed his arms, trying to ignore the fact he was being driven around in a car that was easily priced over one hundred grand, not to mention that it was being driven by the extremely famous Seto Kaiba.

Back at the barn, Yugi sighed heavily, and as he turned around to go back to his chores, realized Ciaran was standing in the hall, a look of distress evident in her eyes. Her lithe body swayed uneasily from side to side, and her tail swished against the concrete floor.

Knowing the dragon to be as rash as her owner, Yugi tensed, trying to keep calm and failing miserably. "N-Now, Ciaran… Settle do-" he didn't have time to finish.

The dragon trotted over to the door, pushing Yugi aside carelessly and stood in the gravel driveway, watching her master being driven away. Frantic, the reptile let out a desperate roar, and when it wasn't met with a response she began to trot after the vehicle.

"Ciaran, come back!" Yugi had managed to get back on his feet and outside just in time to see the dragon take flight into the air, following after the sleek, red sports car.

* * *

Half an hour later, Joey was sitting in the driveway of Seto Kaiba's house. The door to the small, two-story house sat open, and occasionally Joey would see the form of Seto's little brother, Mokuba, dash by.

Without any consideration, Joey rolled his window down and lit another cigarette, hearing the younger Kaiba's yells from the open door.

"Seto, you promised not to be gone long!"

There was a muffled reply, followed by Seto placing a bag by the door.

"What if you don't find him?" he heard Mokuba ask, following after his brother.

Another door could be heard closing, Joey guessed it was a closet, then came Seto's voice, in about mid-sentence. "-not that far away."

"Yes, it is! You'll have to search the whole mountain range!" Mokuba and Seto stood at the front of the open door, Seto with his arms crossed and Mokuba standing on his tip toes, desperately trying to not feel so intimidated by his older brother's stature.

"Mokie, listen, if I don't find him in a week, I'll come home. I promise." Seto let his arms drop to his sides, understanding what his brother was saying, but knowing there wasn't any other choice.

The younger boy wrapped his arms around Seto's waist, and said something, but it was muffled by Seto's shirt. Joey watched from the car, blowing out a cloud of smoke. The thought of being alone, on a mountainside, for an entire week with Seto sent his blood rushing. It was worse than a bad idea - it was horrible.

Joey was sure he would forever remember this week as the seven days he spent in Hell. Sighing, he flicked his cigarette out of the car as Seto approached, both hands clutching two large, black backpacks. He went around to the back of the car and lifted the hood to the trunk. Tossing the items inside, he slammed the trunk shut before slipping back into the driver's seat of the car.

As they pulled out of the driveway, Joey looked back in his mirror and noticed Mokuba standing in the doorway, watching them leave.

"We could'a brought him with us, you know," Joey mumbled. He knew that, if in the same situation, there would be no way he could have left, with Serenity standing alone like Mokuba was.

Seto snorted dismissively. "He will be fine. I have someone watching him."

"Whateva'," Joey shrugged, figuring what Seto did was his own business.

"You know, the least you could do is not be miserable the whole time." Seto glanced over at Joey, who was now clearly sulking about the whole ordeal. The blonde was sunk into his seat, arms crossed, with his feet pressed against the dashboard.

Mouth ajar, Joey's honey eyes looked at Seto with disbelief. "You drag me away from work, and my dragon, and expect me ta' be happy about it?"

Seto's eyebrows furrowed and his lips pursed together. "You lost my dragon. The least you can do is help me find him."

Joey's feet slipped off the dashboard and his hands fell to his legs, his eyes wider. "I saved your life, and three other dragons!" He couldn't believe what this asshole was saying!

"So? You still lost my dragon, Wheeler." Seto kept his eyes on the road, ignoring Joey's little charade.

"You're such an ass," Joey muttered, putting his feet back up on the dashboard, resuming his previous position. He reached into his pocket again for his pack of cigarettes, thinking maybe he could just smoke himself to death and end this whole nightmare.

Moving to hit the button and roll the window down, he frowned when the glass pane didn't move. His finger pressed on the automatic button harder, then he looked around to Seto, puzzled by the vehicle's disobedience.

"Don't smoke in my car," Seto grunted, pointing down to a button that Joey recognized to be the child safely lock - one that prevented anyone from rolling the windows up, or down.

Unlit cigarette in-hand, Joey glared at his traveling companion. "You didn't care before when you were comin' outta' the house," he pointed out with a grumble.

"I wasn't in the car, so there wasn't anything I could do about it," Seto explained, somewhat snidely.

With one last roll of Joey's eyes, the two settled into silence, the brunette driving and the blonde watching scenery as it passed by. The thin line of trees along the side of the road grew thicker, and the occasional farmlands began to space out, replaced by small patches of forest.

Joey's ears popped a few times as the road twisted up the mountain, away from the valley farm lands below.. Occasionally Joey would catch a glimpse of river, or a deer. It was obvious they were heading deeper into the mountainside.

After Joey had put his pack of cigarettes in his backpack, Seto had unlocked the windows, and Joey cracked it open, inhaling the smell of pine and oak. Although they had only been driving for an hour or so, it was completely different from the dry, grassy smell that Joey was accustomed to, back at the barns. Also, it was darker, the thick canopy of the trees blocking out the worst of the sun's rays. With the lack of sunlight came cooler weather, and soon Joey dug in his bag for a sweater, slipping it on in his seat.

Another hour crept by, and finally Seto took a turn down a dirt road, one that clearly wasn't traveled as often. Large potholes littered the ground, trees looming dangerously over the car. Twigs and branches lay lifelessly in their path, before being crushed under the sports car's tires.

Bored, Joey began to wonder if he would come across Bigfoot, or something, wishing he would have brought some beef jerky with him. At least he could have kept himself occupied when in such poor company. He let out an aspirated sigh, shifting around in his seat, quickly becoming restless.

Finally, after another hour, the car slid to a stop along the road. It had been a while since Joey had seen a light post, or even a house, for that matter. Opening the car door and stepping outside, he was willing to bet they were in the middle of nowhere, completely separated from the world.

"Kaiba, if I'm eaten by a bear and left to die, never to be found, I am finding you in the afterlife and re-killing you," Joey drawled casually, joining Seto, who was getting the two backpacks out of the car.

"Who says I am going to let a bear kill me? I'll just trip you and let it eat you," Seto retorted with a smirk, shoving one of the packs into Joey's hand.

Joey gave him a questioning look, prompting the brunette to explain. "It has everything you'll need, water purifier, GPS, cell phone, jacket, sleeping bag... You get the idea," Seto said offhandedly, shutting the trunk and pressing a button on his keys, the car beeping as it locked.

Like anyone was around to break into the car, anyways.

Joey sighed again and pulled the backpack onto his shoulder, gripping it as he looked out into the thick brush and woodlands.

Well... This was going to be fun.


	10. Sting of Winter

Mary: I hope you find this chapter up to par. Let me know what you think!

Dancing Elf: A very happy holiday to you too, I hope you like my Christmas update.

Wiccachick: Love your screen name, a very blessed solstice to you, if you celebrate it, if not then excuse my assumption. I am glad you are enjoying my story so far.

LIldreamer: Thank you for your review! I am glad you like my story so far, make sure you let me know how I did on this chapter too!

PS to you all, this hasn't gone through my beta yet. You have been warned 0.o

* * *

Joey trudged through the forest, following along behind Seto quietly. The elder of the two was walking with his eyes glued to a small GPS system that, apparently, knew how to track Addis. This had only been divulged to Joey after a heated argument broke out, Joey insisting the whole trip was ridiculous, that they would never find Addis in the middle of this mess.

Grudgingly Seto had shoved the GPS unit into Joey's face, pointing to a tiny, red spot; a spot that had latitude and longitude coordinates beside it. Below it were directions, instructing the young men in which way they should travel.

Now, three hours into their campaign, the sun was setting, Joey was hungry, and if he stumbled over another rock he was positive he was going to scream, probably at Seto.

The cold was also setting in, seeping past Joey's sweater and down to his skin, sending a light shiver through his body. Grudgingly he looked ahead to Seto, who seemed just fine with his long, black trench coat, black Calvin Klein sweater, and an awesome pair of thick, black sweat pants, complimented by a thick white stripe that slipped down the side of each leg. Mr. Moneybags appeared to be handling the whole thing quite well.

As this did nothing to better his mood Joey put his eyes back onto the ground, just in time to watch himself trip over a particularly sneaky rock that had hidden itself under a bit of leaves.

"That's it!" The blonde shouted, his frustration echoing in the quite forest. "I've had it. I'm over it. I'm done." He let his two backpacks slide from his shoulders, and after a quick check for rocks flopped onto the ground, arms and legs crossed in the most childish way.

Seto rolled his eyes and stopped, turning around to face Joey, looking disdainful. "Again?"

"No, I'm serious this time. I'm done." Joey repeated, wrapping his arms around himself as another violent shiver wracked through his body.

Annoyed Seto stood and looked at Joey, sitting on the ground shivering. His eyes moved from a sharp, criticizing look to a softer gauze, realizing that Joey wasn't just complaining this time.

With a tsk of disapproval Seto promptly dropped his backpack and stripped himself of his trench coat, folding it before draping it over his backpack. "Fine," He agreed apathetically "but you have to help me get fire wood."

The promise of heat set Joey into motion, as he quickly stood and began to gather small twigs and dried leaves. Placing it all into a pile Joey began to dig a shallow hole, making sure the area had been cleared down to the dirt, brushing all the leaves and foliage away. If there was one thing he knew how to do, it was build a kickass fire.

All the while Seto had gone and collected larger branches and logs, and when he came back he dropped it into a pile, giving Joey a frustrated glare. "What is that supposed to do?" he snapped, looking at the useless pile to stuff Joey had collected.

Frowning Joey turned his head to look at the fire wood Seto had grabbed. "It is going to light was you found." He explained, impatient with Seto's 'know it all' attitude. It was true the brunette may have out-smarted him with technology, but he was dumb as a brick when it came to out-door living.

"You can't just light big log, dummy." He reach over, grabbed the pile of dead leaves he collected, then lightly tossed them into the shallow hole. "They will burn out before they have a chance to really kindle." He began placing the small twig over the hole, leaving only enough space for him to fit his hand through.

Wrinkling his nose at the information Joey was offering Seto couldn't help but rebut, especially if the blonde was trying to prove him wrong. "How do you know that?" he questioned, skepticism in his voice.

Joey only laughed a small laugh before responding. "You learn a lot when you don't have a home, buddy."

Clenching his jaw shut at the harsh, but eye opening response, Seto stood by quietly, watching as Joey leaned the larger logs against each other in the shape of a tepee. Once they were all resting together Joey took his lighter from his back pocket and set the dead leaves ablaze, watching as the twigs quickly caught fire too.

After some encouragement from Joey, adding twigs and blowing onto the small flames, they eventually licked up the logs and began to start a promising fire.

"Alright, dis' baby will go all night if we let it." Joey said triumphantly, holding his hands over the small, but growing fire.

"Hmph." Seto grabbed his trench coat and backpack, then took a seat on a rock away from Joey. "You have actually impressed me, Wheeler."

"If ya would quit bein' such a jerk I might do it more often." Grumbled Joey, reaching beside him to drag his backpacks closer. "What'd we gotta eat in here, anyway?" he asked as he began to rummage through it.

Seto took his own back and unzipped the first, larger pocket, and pulled out a small silver bag, labeled 'R.E.M.' on both sides. He opened the silver pouch and pulled out another, this one brown. Ripping off the first half of the pouch he then took a bottle of water out and added half of it to the mix, rubbing the sides together then set it down.

Looking through his own stuff Joey found a cluster of the small bags and began to read through them, finding pasta, chicken, chicken noodle soup, meatloaf, chili, and his favorite out of the selections, sloppy Joe filling.

"What the hell are these things?" he asked pulling out the sloppy Joe packet and looking it over.

"Ready to eat meals. The military uses them." He explained as he picked up his now warm food, plucked a fork from the silver pouch, and took a bite of his food. "Everything you need to eat is in the pouch, and they each have sufficient fat and calories to get you through the day."

Joey opened the silver pouch in his hands and took a look, finding a packet similar to Seto's but also accompanied by a fruit packet, cheese crackers, peanut butter, crackers, a spoon, and a portion of apple cider, much to his delight.

"Hey, alright!" Joey said excitedly, warming his own food much like Seto had and eating his cheese crackers, clearly more enthusiastic than Seto about the small meal.

"It doesn't taste very good." Seto warned before Joey picked up his spoon and took his first bite.

For a person like Seto, who probably never missed a meal in his life, it may have not tasted great, but for someone like Joey, who was used to living on a painfully empty stomach, the food wasn't half bad. Sure, freshly cooked fish would win any day, but for not having to do any work Joey found it satisfying, and was soon eating the rest of his meal with content.

Seto watched quietly, amazed at how fast Joey could inhale food. By the time he had taken four bites Joey had emptied his main course pouch, and was half way done with his crackers. The poor apple cider was drank in all but two gulps, and soon Joey was looking in his backpack for more water to drink.

"What, are you a camel or something?" he asked when Joey finished off half a bottle of water, earning a concerned look from Seto.

"Uh….what?" Joey held his half empty water bottle in his hand, glancing from one side to the other before giving Seto a confused look.

"Where are you keeping all that water?" It was an honest question, as Seto was sure if he drank that much, that quick, he would have puked.

"In my stomach?" Joey still wasn't sure what he was trying to get at.

Seto's blue eyes rolled in a resigned motion before he gave up the subject, taking a bit of his own food, slowly chewing. As Joey scooted closer to the fire Seto plucked his GPS system from the side pocket of his backpack and gave it a look, studying to coordination it was giving. "Addis should only be a day or two away. If all goes well, we should be back within the week."

"Awesome." Joey's voice was void of any real care or enthusiasm. He reached into his back pocket for his cigarettes, only to be stopped by Seto's glare.

"What?" he asked sharply, wondering what Seto's problem was now.

"Are you going to smoke?" he asked accusingly.

"Yeah? What about it?" Joey pulled his pack out of his pocket, along with his lighter.

"Those aren't biodegradable." Seto snapped, still glaring fiercely.

Meeting Seto's eyes Joey starred at him. Since when the hell was Seto Kaiba a tree hugger?

"Really? You just gave me water bottles, and packets of food that we are going to have to leave here, and you are bitching about a cigarette butt?" he asked disbelievingly.

"Everything in that bag, except your sleeping bag and GPS, are biodegradable." He informed in a matter-of-fact tone. "Don't add to an already growing problem."

Seto held out his hand, careful to avoid the fire, still giving Joey a firm look as he waited for the blonde to hand over the pack of cigarettes.

"Oh, hell no!" That was the final straw. He could take trudging around, he could take semi-shitty meals, he could take bugs, and spiders, and even Seto's grumpy self, but having his smokes taken was absolutely out of the question.

"Fuck you, dude." He said, taking a line out of Tristan's book, as he stood. "I've been smoking for three years, like hell if I'm going to stop because you want to hump a tree."

As Seto was about to rebut Joey stood and stalked off into the shadows of the night, keeping close enough to see the fire but far away so Seto wouldn't bother him. From where he was sitting Seto could see Joey's lighter flick to life, and with a defeated sigh he began to unclip his sleeping bag from the bottom of his pack and roll it out onto the ground.

Although he wouldn't ever admit to it, Seto was hoping for a slightly better trip. He would never tell Joey, but he had actually spoken to Yugi about all of this. Yugi had even agreed that Joey would be great for the trip, as Seto had put a great deal of consideration into hiring someone. In the end of it all Yugi had convinced him; Joey was best suited. Now, as he glanced around to the spot where Joey stood, he wasn't so sure.

Taking his shoes off Seto slid into his sleeping back, rolling over so he could watch the flames of the fire dance around, shifting from beautiful shades of blue and purple, to yellow and red.

Long after he fell asleep Joey came back to their little camp sight, resisting the urge to give Seto a swift kick as he lay motionless in his sleeping bag. He took his previous spot by the fire and for an hour or so listened to the sounds of the forest, a deer trotting by or an owl hooting.

Eventually he became bored, and finding nothing to do he added a few fresh logs to the fire, then set his backpack up on a rock. Remember a time when a spider crawled into his shoes Joey slipped his boots off, laced them together, then promptly hung them from a nearby branch, covering them with his sweater that he stripped off.

Once he was comfortable with his sleeping arrangements he curled up in his sleeping bag, pulling the hood of it close to his face. He rolled over, back to Seto, before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

* * *

The next morning Joey woke, the soft pitter patter of rain rousing him from his deep sleep. Stirring slightly Joey tried to ignore the noise, momentarily forgetting where he was. On rainy days the droplets would splatter against the roof, rousing him and the dragons from their slumber.

His eyebrows ceased together when the noise grew slightly louder, and a drop splashed onto his face. Blinking awake Joey sat up, remembering he was in the middle of the woods. Moisture was thick in the air, making Joey cough, which in turn woke Seto who was happily hibernating in his sleeping bag.

Looking around the campsite Joey pushed his sleeping bag off, startled when he noticed it was soaked, almost completely through. Apparently water resistant and water proof were two different things.

"Fuck!" Joey kicked the sleeping bag off and looked around. The fire was dead, Seto's bag and coat were soaked through, and his sweater was dripping wet as they hung from the branch.

Thick with sleep Seto looked around, watching as Joey rush to gather his backpack and grab his shoes and sweater from the tree. Luckily his precaution with his shoes the night before left them partially dry. Thankful Joey peeled his socks off and put his shoes on, wanting to keep his feet as dry as possible.

"Wake up, would ya?" Joey growled to Seto, looking through his backpack at the ruined items inside.

Realizing the situation Seto sat up and grabbed his backpack, desperately rummaging through it as he sat in his own sleeping bag, ignoring as rain water began to drip from his hair.

"Shit!" he yelled loudly, shoving his backpack away from himself.

Joey stopped ringing his sweatshirt out, water now dripping from his wet hair down to his face and looked at Seto. "What?" he asked, wondering what could make the situation worse.

Seto held up the wet GPS system, which now had a blank screen and was completely soaked. "It's broke."

Wide eyed and disbelieving Joey stepped over the dead fire and snatched the device from Seto, pressing a few buttons in hopes of getting it to work. Instead of glowing to life it remained dead and useless. Not even a spark gave hope of life.

"So," Joey tried to comprehend the situation, "What does this mean?"

"We're lost." Seto said with an even tone, as if he were stating a casual fact.

"We're lost?" Joey repeated, standing there as the rain drenched them.

"Yup." Seto nodded, stepping out of his sleeping back and picking up his shoes, which were full of water.

Looking around the woods Joey felt his blood run cold, and his heart beat quickened. "How the fuck are we supposed to get home then?"

Thinking furiously Seto took his wet socks off and stuffed them in his shoes, then tied his shoes together and slung them over his shoulder, figuring that they were worthless and would only cause blisters. "We head back in the direction we came. We were only walking for a few hours, we can't be that far from the car."

"T-that far? That far from the car?!" Now it was Joey's turned to think that Seto was the stupid one. Had this man never been for a hike before? It only took 15 minutes of aimless wandering for a person to become hopelessly lost, let alone a few hours.

Forgetting about his sweater Joey sat down on a rock, hands held to his hair as he looked at the ground hopelessly. "I'm going to die. I'm going to die alone, with Seto Kaiba, in the middle of the forest."

Seto rolled his eyes at Joey's dramatic performance and picked up his backpack, ignoring the rain that was now pelting against his body. "Addis was East of us, so we should head in that direction." He said grabbing his jacket off the ground too.

"Nope," Joey shook his head stubbornly. "You are the reason I am in this mess. I am not following you another meter into this forest. I am sittin' here, and waitin' for help."

"Get real." Seto sighed in aggravation, wishing for once Joey would just shut up and listen. "We move in one solid direction. At the very least we will hit a road and find our way to a town."

Looking through his soaked blonde bangs Joey's honey eyes blazed into Seto's blue. "How do your purpose we do that? I ain't gotta compass."

"The sun, moron. It rises in the east, and sets in the west. So we," he pointed opposite of the way the shadows were tilting, "Go this way."

Sitting for another moment Joey looked around, figuring it was worth a shot. He also didn't want to be alone. Being lost stunk, but being lost alone was even worse, regardless if it meant having to keep the irritable Seto Kaiba as a companion.

"Fine." Joey snapped, grabbing his own bag and shoes.

Together the two started the miserable trek to nowhere, neither of them talking. The cold rain soaked them to the skin, and they both had to move painstakingly slow, as Seto had no shoes, and Joey no socks. While the shoes kept the cuts from any stray rocks away, blisters were beginning to form on his heels.

Early in the day Seto had almost slipped and cut his foot open on a rock, only be caught and balanced by Joey. A grudging thank you was all that was said until the rain let up late in the evening, the light grey sky giving way to a clear twilight blue.

Like a blessing in disguise with the clear sky came a cold wind, one that had both the teens shivering, even Seto who always struggled to appear under control of himself.

"We gotta do somethin'." Joey said finally, his teeth chattering as his wet clothes clung to his body.

Seto stopped and looked at him for a long moment, then finally agreed. Even he had his hands tucked under his arms, fearing for frost bite. "What do we do? Everything is wet."

It was true, even the foliage under the leaves was soaked. Sighing, but knowing there was no other option, Joey stripped his shirt, exposing his skin to the harsh winter cold. Having something that close to his heart that was drenched and freezing would make it impossible for him to warm up, even if he worked. At least without the wet article of clothing he could try to muster up somebody heat.

"What're you doing?" Seto asked, eyebrow furrowed with concern. The blonde had lost his sanity, he was sure.

"Making a fire. A wet, cold shirt won't do me any good, so I may as well lose it." Joey grumbled, setting his bag down and rummaging for the one tool he knew he had packed himself. With shivering hands he pulled out his pocket knife and flicked it open.

"Just get all your wet stuff out so we can dry it, okay?" Joey said as he turned and began to rummage through the ground, close by the trunks of trees where the rain had been less accumulative.

Doing as he was told Joey came back and found all of Seto's, and his, stuff laid out. Knowing it may be their save all Joey eyed Seto's black trench coat, thankful he hadn't left it back with the sleeping bags.

Sitting down and still shivering Joey set to work, stripping the wood of its wet bark, getting down to the dry wood beneath. He then took the dry wood and peeled it into small strips, piling them up. Once he was satisfied with the pile he stopped and took his lighter out of his back pocket and reluctantly the fire lit. Ever so slowly Joey added to the fire, nervous that a damp twig may put it out at any second.

"Where did you learn to do all this stuff?" Seto asked amazed, watching Joey as he gradually began to add wood to the fire, steam rising from the damp branches. Making a fire was one thing, but making it in the freezing cold with wet materials was another.

Joey shrugged with one shoulder, scooting closer to the fire to feel the warmth on his skin. "Sometime Ciaran doesn't let me sleep in her stall, so I end up outside." He admitted.

Seto frowned, his thoughts switching from amazement to concern. "You sleep outside in weather like this?"

Not wanting to complain Joey just gave another shrug, adding more wood to the fire that was slowly building. "Make sure you dry your coat." He instructed, wrapping his arms around his chest to help hold the heat closer to his heart.

Knowing he was right Seto grabbed his trench coat and laid it close to the fire, making sure to rotate it every so often.

Just as the worst of the cold was setting in they had managed to dry their shoes and Seto's coat, which Joey was more than happy about. It was his next suggestion that started another wave of bickering between the two, ending the hopeful silence that had fallen the camp site.

"I am not, and will not, huddle with you under my jacket." Seto glared, hoping that looks could kill.

"Then freeze to death!" Joey said throwing his hands up. "Shit, I'll just keep my damn shirt off, at least then I'll die first and not have to deal with you."

Still glaring at him Seto threw his coat over to Joey. "You wear it, my shirt is drying, so I'm fine for now."

"Psh." Joey rolled his eyes and scoffed scornfully. "In two hours it'll be below freezing and you'll be dead, or sick enough to kill you. So really, richboy, stop being stubborn."

It took the better of an hour, but grudgingly Seto complied, going next to Joey and wrapping the coat around himself too. Freezing wind, and the start of a light snow fall had left him with no choice. It was only when he accidently touched the side of Joey's arm he realized the extent of how cold he was.

"Sorry." He mumbled, thinking how nice it would have been to fling himself at Joey. The brief moment of contact made his skin sting with warmth, and his skin crawl. It was a nice thought, but just a thought none the less.

Together the two sat, side by side and as far apart as they could be. Neither spoke as Joey's stomach gave a loud rumble, Joey leaning to grab his backpack. At least their meals had been water proof.

"Hey," he said, opening a pack of crackers and glancing over to Seto, "Next time ya pack, ya might wanna make sure things are water proof."

Clenching his jaw in frustration Seto shot Joey a murderous look. "I'm already firing the person who put this together. Don't worry, I thought about that five minutes after I woke up."

Joey laughed lightly at Seto's harsh demeanor, then held the package of crackers out to him.

"Thanks." He mumbled his appreciation and took one, chewing it as he drew his arms up to his chest and yawned.

Joey followed his lead and let out a large yawn of his own, his body still trembling lightly from the cold.

"Go to sleep." Seto said, watching as Joey's eyelids began to droop. "I don't bite, I swear." He smirked.

Throwing a few more logs onto the fire Joey pulled the jacket back around him the best he could and sank to the ground, curling his knees close to his chest. "Touch me, and I swear I'll poison your water with berries." He threated, only half joking.

"Whatever." Seto ignored his charade and glanced over every so often, only stopping when Joey was softly sleeping, his chest rising and falling. Joey's breath slowly became smoother, his chest rising and falling with the deep rhythmic breathing of sleep.

Seto's eyes scanned over his torso, taking note of the multiple scars that ran along his pale body. The one that caught his attention the most was the one on his arm, which Seto recognized to be the one he'd received all those years ago. That day he remember so well, ushering Mokuba out of the barn, looking back when his brother expressed his concern.

His father hadn't approved, but when Seto brought up the fact that someone could die in his barn, and the bad press it would be, Gozaburo had made the choice to bring Joey back to his house. The whole drive Seto had tried to stop the flow of bleeding, wondering if Joey would lose his arm.

He came out of his recollection, eyes casting over Joey's sleeping form. Although the fire was now well built Joey's body still shook occasionally, causing Seto to do something he wouldn't dare do if Joey were awake.

Concerned, but never willing to admit it, Seto laid down behind Joey, his warm chest pressing against Joey's icy back. Now that the two were closer together Seto's trench coat wrapped effortlessly around them, trapping in the heat from both of their bodies.

Soon after Joey stopped trembling, only becoming cold when Seto would sit up and add firewood, doing his best to make sure it stayed lit through the night. As he laid back down he made sure to cover Joey back up. Laying his head back down he couldn't help but smirk when he realized Joey smelled much like the barn, he guess was from how much time he spent there.

Just as the sun began to rise Seto's eyelids slowly lowered, submitting to the sleep he so desperately needed. The crackle of the fire became hushed, and his last memory was inhaling the smell of Joey, who still slept soundlessly in his arms.

* * *

Has anyone noticed someone is missing?...


End file.
